Rising Spear Releases Statment in Wake of NCAA Penalties Against Florida State

"These penalties expressly permit Rising Spear to continue working with student-athletes, including those who attend Florida State University."

The NCAA levied sanctions against the Florida State Seminoles in January, claiming that FSU committed recruiting violations in the spring of 2022. FSU offensive coordinator Alex Atkins allegedly drove a student-athlete to facilitate a Name Image and Likeness (NIL) deal with a booster and the NIL collective "Rising Spear" who are associated with the university.

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As a part of an agreement between Florida State and the NCAA, FSU will have to disassociate itself from the collective for three years, among recruiting and roster penalties. Rising Spear President Will Cowen released a statement on Friday regarding the incident and their role in developing and maintaining relationships with student-athletes.

"On behalf of the co-founders, board of directors, and staff of Rising Spear Gold Standard LLC ("Rising Spear"), we are disappointed to review the penalties approved by the NCAA Committee on Infractions, which were announced Thursday evening," the statement read. "Through a negotiated resolution process the institution, coach and enforcement staff agreed that the violation occurred in the Spring Semester of 2022. Rising Spear separated from the individual employee (booster) referenced in the NCAA report immediately upon learning of the incident."

Official Statement from Rising Spear. pic.twitter.com/GKmtgcE7J9

— RisingSpear (@RisingSpearNIL) January 12, 2024

"The co-founders, employees or interns of Rising Spear have never spoken or communicated with the NCAA on this matter. None of Rising Spear's current employees, interns or contractors worked for Rising Spear at the time of the violation."

The statement pointed out that while they can still maintain and continue working with student-athletes, the penalties won't affect current NIL agreements.

"It is essential to note that these penalties expressly permit Rising Spear to continue working with student-athletes, including those who attend Florida State University. This is also true of its sister organization, Rising Spear Garnet Spirit, Inc., which was not involved in the allegations at hand and has provided more than 2,000 hours of charitable service to the Tallahassee community since its inception. Rising Spear and Rising Spear Garnet Spirit, Inc. collectively have a relationship with more than 100 student athletes from the following sports: Baseball, Beach Volleyball, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Volleyball, and Men's & Women's Basketball. Nothing about these penalties changes those relationships or agreements."

Along with the disassociation between the university and Rising Spear, the remaining penalties from the NCAA are as follows:

• Two years of probation.
• A two-year show cause order for the assistant coach, including a suspension from the next three regular-season games, a two-week restriction on recruiting communication, and required attendance at a NCAA Regional Rules Seminar attendance.
• A restriction from off-campus recruiting during fall 2023 for the assistant coach.
• A three-year disassociation from the booster.
• A one-year disassociation from the collective.
• A $5,000 fine plus 1% of the football budget.
• A 5% reduction in football scholarships over the two-year probationary period, amounting to a total reduction of five scholarships.
• A reduction in official (paid) visits in the football program in the 2023-24 academic year by seven. The school also will not roll over six unused official visits from the 2022-23 academic year.
• A reduction in football recruiting communications for a total of six weeks during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years.
• A reduction in the number of in-person recruiting days during the 2023-24 academic year by six evaluation days during fall 2023 and 18 during spring 2024.

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