NCAA: Boise State football scholarship reductions will stand

The NCAA refused Wednesday to overturn the sanctions levied against the Boise State football team. The team will lose three scholarships over the next three seasons and be on probation for that time due to the school's "lack of institutional control" after violations by the football, track and tennis teams.

The school's appeal, which centered on seeming inconsistencies between their punishment and some of the sanctions handed down to more high-profile violators over the last few years, did not go anywhere with the NCAA.

Most of the more serious violations did not come from the football team, but they were dinged for the way they housed visiting recruits during visits to the school's campus from 2006-2009.

The team will also have its number of full-contact spring practices cut from 12 to nine over the next three years.

While they may not seem like all that major punishments, the margin for error for Boise to compete on a national level is a lot smaller than many of the other more traditional football powers.

This story was originally published on SBNation.com.