The present study focuses on the National Collegiate Athletic Association and cases of misconduct from 1953 to 2016 to examine evidence of organizational layering created by social-control agents. The historical method was employed and found wrongdoing may influence the creation of organizational layers to control and/or manage future behavior. Furthermore, the activities of the National Collegiate Athletic Association featured variation in centralization, formalization, and complexity through expanding horizontal; vertical (e.g., institutional, managerial, and technical); and spatial differentiations. Second, individual social-control agents impact future organizational policies and member behavior but social-control agents’ power may be challenged as an organization grows. Third, as a social-control agent, the National Collegiate Athletic Association struggled with assessing cases of misconduct, assigning sanctions in a timely manner and at a level to deter future wrongdoing. Finally, the present study offers several propositions connecting third-party regulators to the synergy between complexity (i.e., horizontal and vertical differentiations); formalization; and centralization.