Larry Brown SMU 2015
SMU head men's basketball coach Larry Brown will be suspended for the team's first nine games of the upcoming season for violating NCAA policies. Getty Images

The NCAA has reportedly banned the Southern Methodist University men’s basketball team from the 2016 postseason and head coach Larry Brown for nine games in the upcoming season citing his lack of control over the program, according to a report ESPN released Tuesday morning.

While the school can appeal the NCAA’s decision, SMU also faces the loss of nine scholarships over the next three years and will be put on probation for the same span of time, sources told ESPN. Other punishments include the reduction of off-campus recruiting by 20 days and contact with recruits.

The Mustangs specifically face a charge of helping a player become eligible. Former basketball administrator and assistant coach Ulric Maligi reportedly tried to help guard Keith Frazier, and he was deemed eligible by the NCAA for the 2015-16 season back in August.

Brown, whose previous work at UCLA and Kansas also faced disciplinary measures from the NCAA, reportedly met with the organizing body’s committee of infractions in June. However, Maligi decided not to speak with the NCAA.

A source also told ESPN the 75-year-old Brown was unware of the violation as it happened, but once he learned of the infraction was too slow to report it and was not “clear” when sitting down with the NCAA.

Brown is about to enter his fourth season with the Mustangs after racking up a 27-7 record and reaching as high as No. 18 in national rankings last year.

SMU was expected to be a top-25 team in the preseason rankings, and currently sit just outside of USA Today’s top 25 preseason poll.