SMU was sanctioned by The NCAA for recruiting violations. Not exactly a rare act, and one that is sometimes hard to avoid because boosters have ways of circumventing well-intentioned oversight. But during their probation period, they were caught again violating the recruiting standards. This was the misstep that earned them "death." Maybe the athletic department, the school administrators all tried to stay within the rules. But the boosters who make "strong recruiting" possible cared nothing about the rules, the sanctions, nor the consequences. It is now some SMU boosters who are making it possible for their school to join a conference without receiving any media money for seven years. What are the limits to which these boosters would go to ensure the success of SMU? About the Death Penalty. It may never be used again. When it was imposed on SMU it affected all of the programs that were on their schedule for the next couple of years and it harmed the other schools in their conference.