INDIANAPOLIS — NCAA president Myles Brand understands it's expensive running a Division I athletic program, and it can be just as expensive to give student-athletes academic help.

Shortchanging classwork for wins and losses just won't cut it any more.

On Wednesday, the NCAA banned two teams — Centenary men's basketball and Tennessee-Chattanooga football — from the postseason because of poor academic scores and could add a third, depending on an appeal from Jacksonville State football. That decision could come within six weeks.

It's the first time the NCAA has handed down such severe penalties for subpar classwork.

"The truth of the matter is that if you're going to compete at high-level in college athletics, then you have to provide what they need in terms of equipment and recruiting and that's not inexpensive," Brand said during a conference call with reporters. "You also have to provide what the student-athletes need to graduate."

Many of the 177 teams facing penalties for poor Academic Progress Rate scores have one thing in common: Less money than the big boys.

The scores are calculated based on data from the fall semester in 2004 through the spring semester in 2008. Each athlete receives one point per semester for being academically eligible and another point each semester for remaining at that school or graduating.

A formula is used to correlate a final team score, with 1,000 points being perfect. Teams that fall below 925 annually can be subjected to immediate penalties. Those consistently falling below 900 face harsher sanctions.

Next year, schools with four straight years of poor scores could face the NCAA's most severe penalty, restricted Division I membership for the entire athletic department. That includes Centenary and Chattanooga.