Alabama State Jacory Croskey-Merritt NCAA probation is now official. The NCAA hit the HBCU with a Level I-Mitigated infractions ruling on July 28. Alabama State received three years of probation and a $30,000 fine. The school must also pay one percent of its football program budget. ASU accepted the ruling and won’t appeal, but it strongly disputes how the case was classified.
What the NCAA Found
The case centers on Alabama State’s 2019 football season. ASU admitted that a former sports information director altered one athlete’s statistics on the school’s website. According to the university, that employee acted at the direction of the former head football coach. Neither the school’s statement nor the public case record names the athlete directly. Still, every detail points toward Jacory Croskey-Merritt and the eligibility mess that derailed part of his college career.
Croskey-Merritt started at Alabama State in 2019. The school maintained he played in only four games that season, which let him use a redshirt. Other records credited him with up to eight appearances instead. Reports later suggested another Alabama State running back wore his jersey number for part of that year, creating conflicting participation data. That confusion is what eventually triggered the NCAA’s review years later.
Alabama State Jacory Croskey-Merritt NCAA Probation: The Path From Montgomery to the NFL
Croskey-Merritt spent four seasons at Alabama State before transferring to New Mexico. There, he rushed for 1,190 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2023. He then transferred again, this time to Arizona, which certified him to play in 2024. His season opened with 106 rushing yards and a touchdown against New Mexico. Arizona benched him for the rest of the year once new questions surfaced about his 2019 record at Alabama State.
Despite missing most of that season, Croskey-Merritt still entered the 2025 NFL Draft. Washington selected him in the seventh round. He’s now on the Commanders’ roster, which is exactly why this ruling is generating attention well beyond the SWAC.
Alabama State Pushes Back on the Penalty
ASU argues the punishment doesn’t match the offense, especially compared to how Arizona was treated. According to Alabama State, Arizona received only a Level III violation and a $500 fine. That’s despite the fact that Arizona certified Croskey-Merritt and got the competitive benefit of his play. Alabama State, by contrast, never certified him for 2024 and gained nothing from his appearance against New Mexico.
“The certifying institution received a minor infraction, while Alabama State was assigned one of the NCAA’s most serious classifications,” said ASU President Dr. Quinton T. Ross Jr. Athletics Director Dr. Jason Cable called the case “improperly elevated” from the outset. The committee ultimately reduced Alabama State’s classification to mitigated. Because of that reduction, both officials feel the outcome validates their objection, even as the underlying probation stands.
Importantly, the NCAA found insufficient evidence to hold the former head coach personally responsible for directing the alteration. Donald Hill-Eley led the Hornets during the 2019 season in question, though the university’s statement didn’t name him directly. ASU also emphasized that the case involved one employee, not a broader pattern. It didn’t include any allegation of failure to monitor or lack of institutional control.
Where Things Stand Now
Alabama State has since revised its statistical-reporting protocols and added postgame reviews. The school also strengthened its auditing procedures and compliance education, hoping to prevent a repeat. The three-year probationary period begins now. It formally closes the institutional chapter of this case, even if the fairness debate around it lingers.
For Alabama State, the ruling caps a rough stretch that’s tested the athletic department’s credibility. Meanwhile, the football and baseball programs have delivered wins elsewhere this year, giving the school something positive to point to alongside the sanction. According to HBCU Gameday’s report on the ruling, the case adds another unusual chapter to Croskey-Merritt’s eligibility saga. That saga already cost him nearly his entire final college season, and now it follows his former school into a new three-year probation.
Croskey-Merritt, meanwhile, is focused on his NFL career in Washington. Still, the Alabama State Jacory Croskey-Merritt NCAA probation story will likely stay part of the conversation around him for years. It’s rare for a single athlete’s eligibility dispute to produce sanctions against two different NCAA programs. Expect ASU to continue pressing its fairness argument publicly, even without a formal appeal on the books.
