April 2009 Volume I Issue VII Alabama Admits to Violations over Textbooks USAToday.com March 6, 2009 TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) The University of Alabama has appeared before the NCAA's Committee on Infractions regarding self-reported violations involving textbooks and other materials for athletes and acknowledged that athletes broke rules. The university said Thursday that the hearing was held on Feb. 20. The university reported the violations after uncovering them during the 2007 football season, when five players were suspended. The university admitted in its 67-page response to the NCAA's notice of allegations that infractions occurred in several sports and that it didn't adequately monitor its distribution of textbooks to student-athletes. In this issue: NCAA Recruiting Practice Test Now Available Page 1 April Dead Period Reminders Page 2 FSU Appealing NCAA Sanctions Page 2 Recruiting Tips Page 3 Interpretations Corner Page 3 Texas A&M Corpus Christi Penalized Page 4 Compliance Quiz Page 5 Contact the Compliance Staff Page 5 The NCAA letter, dated May 19, 2008, said the allegations against Alabama were potentially major violations, including allowing athletes to improperly receive textbooks and other supplies, failure to monitor textbook distribution and to provide adequate education on the rules to athletes and employees at the university bookstore. The violations allegedly occurred from the 2005-06 school year through the fall of 2007, which means the university could be punished as a repeat violator. The football program was placed on probation on Feb. 1, 2002. "Compliance with NCAA and SEC rules is of the utmost importance to the University of Alabama and our athletics department, and I am pleased with the way our compliance officers handled this situation," Alabama President Dr. Robert Whitt said in a statement. "UA works diligently to ensure that integrity and a commitment to excellence are the hallmarks of our athletics program..." Alabama suspended five football players for four games two seasons ago for using their athletic scholarships to get free textbooks for others. The names of the football players and other athletes and sports involved were blacked out in the version made public Thursday because of federal privacy laws. The university said some athletes intentionally broke rules. "These intentional wrongdoers knew that they were taking advantage of the university and its Supply Store," the university said in its response to the NCAA. "However, these student-athletes believed that because the textbooks were either returned to the Supply Store or charged to them if not returned, no NCAA rules were implicated by their conduct." The university said none of the textbooks or materials were used for profit or to get items not related to academics, and that the athletes involved who still have eligibility remaining have had to pay restitution. Alabama said it has since required NCAA compliance officials to be present during all periods for student-athletes to pick up textbooks. The violations were uncovered after an Alabama Supply Store employee noticed that one athlete had more than $1,600 in charges for the fall semester of 2007. ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS! The 2009-10 NCAA Coaches Certification (Recruiting) Practice Test is now available! Use the link below to access the practice exam and brush up on your knowledge of recruiting rules! http://web1.ncaa.org/coachestest/exec/practiceexam?division=1 LSU Admission Application Deadline is April 15 th!! The cost is $40, but will increase to $55 after this date. Coaches Monthly Meeting Wednesday, April 8 th at 8:30 a.m. 5 th Floor Conference Room Athletics Administration Building. Coaches Recruiting Exam Review 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 5 th 5 th Floor Conference Room Athletics Administration Building. Coaches Recruiting Exam 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 5 th ACSA Computer Labs.
April 2009 Page 2 April Dead Period Reminder!! April 6-9: Baseball, Softball, Women s Volleyball, Gymnastics, Men s and Women s Golf, Swimming and Diving, Men s and Women s Tennis. April 2-9 (noon) and April 13-16: Men s Basketball. April 3-9 and 13-16: Women s Basketball. Note: April 10-12 is a Quiet Period. Florida State Challenging NCAA Decision to Take Away Wins USAToday.com March 20, 2009 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Florida State, in undertaking what officials are calling a vigorous appeal of an NCAA sanction to vacate wins, has hired a former administrative law judge to handle the case. At issue for FSU President T.K. Wetherell, who confirmed the school's appeal during a news conference Tuesday, is what he sees as the wrongful punishment of FSU coaches as well as the student-athletes not involved in academic misconduct that included 61 athletes and three former FSU employees. "It just isn't right. It just flat isn't right," Wetherell said. The school has 30 days to appeal, according to Wetherell. If the appeals committees rules against FSU, the school will have 90 days to identify those losses in 10 sports over the 2006 fall, 2007 spring and 2007 fall seasons. "The coaches had no involvement," Weatherell said. "If you look at the organizational charts that were placed there were no line, dotted or connect, between the coaches and the academic side. That's by design. "To suggest they then be penalized is simply wrong and unfair." Bill E. Williams of the law firm Gray Robinson of Tallahassee will handle the appeal, which FSU will make before the NCAA Infraction Appeals Committee. No coach is more greatly affected than Bobby Bowden who is one victory behind Joe Paterno as the winningest coach in major college football. He could lose up to 14 wins although Wetherell stressed that FSU does not at this time know how many losses would be affected. "It's just not about Bobby Bowden," Wetherell said. "It's about a bigger issue." The vacating of wins could also impact the school's 2007 NCAA men's track and field championship. The NCAA also placed the school on a four-year probation, double what FSU imposed, and a modest adjustment of scholarship deductions already put in place for 10 sports including football. FSU does not oppose any other sanction besides the one to vacate records. It is FSU's contention that the school did not knowingly play ineligible student-athletes. The NCAA contends that it does not matter, and that once a player accepted help on an online quiz he or she was ineligible and those contests must be vacated. Wetherell said that the school will formally appeal by Saturday's deadline and that he optimistic that the committee will rule in FSU's favor and that the NCAA "will see the error of their ways."
April 2009 Page 3 Recruiting Tips By Dan Tudor This article was written by Dan Tudor. He is the founder of Selling for Coaches, a training program that teaches advanced recruiting and communication skills to college coaches and athletic departments around the country. In my line of work I hear lots of recruiting stories. It doesn't matter what sport or Division you coach, recruiting within the rules is essential. Here are some recruiting tips: Stick to the rules on contacting recruits. The truth is, our studies show that the frequency of contacts plays no major bearing on a prospect's final decision. Regular contact is important, but it's what you say in those contacts that counts the most. Weekly contact is just fine in the eyes of today's teenage prospect. When you do talk to them, keep it short. This has nothing to do with NCAA rules. But it has everything to do with the effectiveness of your phone calls. Most recruits we talk to say that most coach calls can be (and should be) kept to ten minutes or less. The worst thing you can do is extend the call needlessly by asking the general "chit chat" questions. Stop doing it, unless it's a natural part of your conversation with them, or if they are the ones that bring it up. Log every contact, every time. The array of contact management recruiting software available to coaches at every level makes it almost inexcusable to not track every communication with every recruit. Assume that every step you take in the recruitment of athletes will be made public at some point. When you think it won't, it will. You can win the recruiting battles by staying in-bounds and playing by the rules. Mark my words, the first time you step outside the lines will be the time you get caught. Coaches who follow the rules always come out ahead. Interpretations Corner Grade-Point Average Requirement of a Transfer Student-Athlete Returning to Original Institution The academic and membership affairs staff confirmed that when a student-athlete attends the certifying institution as a full-time student, transfers to another institution and later returns to the original institution, the student-athlete is immediately subject to the fulfillment of minimum grade-point average requirements. 3/19/2009 Staff Interpretation Two-Year College Transfer, Not a Qualifier Transferable English and Math The academic and membership affairs staff confirmed that to satisfy the required transferable English and math credit hours for a transfer student from a two-year college who was not a qualifier, the credits must transfer to the certifying institution as specific English or math credit, regardless of how the courses are identified on the two-year college's transcript. 3/19/2009 Staff Interpretation
March 2009 Page 4 Texas A&M Corpus Christi Punished for Rules Violations NCAA News Release The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions has penalized Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi for major violations in its women s volleyball, men s tennis and men s basketball programs. Penalties for the violations include four years of probation, postseason bans, scholarship reductions, recruiting restrictions and a vacation of records. The violations included ineligible participation, receipt of recruiting inducements, impermissible recruiting phone calls, failure to report NCAA violations and lack of institutional control. The committee also cited unethical conduct against the former athletics director and former compliance director. The violations centered on two international student-athletes one in women s volleyball and one in men s tennis and an international prospect in men s basketball who were involved in several categories of violations. The committee traced the violations to four shortcomings that contributed to a culture of noncompliance at the university. First, the university did not establish adequate policies and procedures to ensure compliance with NCAA rules. That was due in large part to the university s failure to devote the necessary resources for an effective compliance program. Second, the university failed to monitor and evaluate its athletics program to detect or deter instances of NCAA rules violations. Third, the university failed to provide adequate rules education to staff members. Finally, and the most troubling to the Committee on Infractions, university officials decided not to investigate and report information related to NCAA rules violations. Specifically, the university allowed a women s volleyball student-athlete to represent the university in competition during the sixth year after her initial full-time enrollment a year beyond the permissible five-year period of eligibility. The university also provided a former men s tennis student-athlete with $1,500 in impermissible athletically related financial aid at the time the young man was a nonqualifier and was fulfilling a year of residence at the university. Under state law, the studentathlete s receipt of institutional aid also allowed him to pay in-state tuition, which increased the value of the benefit significantly. Once the university became aware of the violations involving this student-athlete, it failed to declare the young man ineligible and continued to allow him to compete and receive travel expenses while ineligible. From August 2007 through February 2008, an assistant men s basketball coach placed at least 92 impermissible telephone calls to four two-year prospective student-athletes. The assistant coach made the impermissible telephone calls after he already had made a permissible call to the prospective student-athletes during that week. The university also provided a prospective men s basketball student-athlete with various recruiting inducements, including costfree lodging and transportation, while the prospective student-athlete resided in the vicinity of the university and attempted to enroll at the school. The committee found that the former AD and former compliance director failed to deport themselves in accordance with the generally recognized high standards of honesty and sportsmanship normally associated with the conduct and administration of intercollegiate athletics. The unethical conduct charge for the former director of athletics was due to his decision not to report this violation to the conference office or NCAA. The unethical conduct and failure to exhibit exemplary conduct charge for the former compliance director was due to his attempt to enhance his own financial situation by threatening to disclose unreported NCAA rules violations during a meeting with the member of the university s human resources staff. Specifically, he indicated he would not report the NCAA violations in exchange for a buy out of his employment contract/agreement, according to the committee. The penalties, some of which were self-imposed by the institution and adopted by the committee, are below. Additional details are available in the public report. Public reprimand and censure. Four years of probation (March 25, 2009, to March 24, 2013). Reduction of three total women s volleyball scholarships awarded (from 12 to nine) for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years. Reduction of one overall equivalency awarded in men s tennis (from 4.5 to 3.5) for the 2009-10 through 2011-12 academic years. The women s volleyball and men s tennis teams must end the 2009-10 season with the last regularly scheduled, in-season contest and are not eligible to participate in any postseason competition, including an international tour, after that season.
April 2009 Page 5 The men s tennis team must limit its schedule to 23 dates of competition during the 2008-09 through 2010-11 academic years. This is a two-contest reduction from the 25 maximum allowed. (Self-imposed by the university.) Reductions in the number of official visits allowed in men s basketball, men s tennis and women s volleyball during the 2008-09 academic year, as detailed in the public report. (Self-imposed by the university.) Vacation of wins in which the involved volleyball student-athlete competed during 2005-06. (Self-imposed by the university.) Vacation of all matches that the involved men s tennis student-athlete won during spring 2005 as well as the 2005-06 and 2006-07 academic years. (Self-imposed by the university.) Restrictions regarding off-campus contacts made by the men s basketball coaching staff. No recruiting telephone calls were made by any men s basketball coaching staff during the entire month of August 2008. (Selfimposed by the university.) The two full-time assistant men s and women s tennis coaches are not allowed to participate in any recruiting activities through the 2009-10 academic year. (Self-imposed by the university.) Compliance Quiz! 1. T or F. Coach Jones best friend is the Athletic Director at a local high school (which coach did not attend). The Athletic Director asked the coach to donate an autographed media guide to be auctioned in an upcoming fundraiser for the high school. NCAA rules permit this to occur. 2. T or F. It is permissible for a coach to meet with a student athlete for consultation purposes during the summer and outside of the playing season, as long as the meeting is voluntary was initiated by the student-athlete. 3. Which of the following may be provided to student-athletes as a permissible nutritional supplement? a. Fruit b. Energy Bars c. Amino Acids d. A & B Answers to Compliance Quiz 1. False. NCAA Bylaw 13.15.1.2 states that an institution may not provide funding, directly or through paid advertisements, to benefit a high school athletics program. 2. True. It is permissible for an individual student-athlete to consult voluntarily with his or her coach outside the established playing season, provided the student-athlete and coach do not engage in actual drills or other physical aspects of practice activities. The coach is not permitted to request to see a particular student-athlete for this purpose, however. 3. B. Energy Bars. Fruit is considered food and must be provided with a permissible meal. The provision of amino acids is considered an extra benefit. Contacting the Compliance Staff Phone: (225) 578-4100 Fax: (225) 578-2430 Bo Bahnsen, Senior Associate Athletics Director (225) 578-3892 bbahnsen@lsu.edu Bo Kerin, Associate Athletics Director for Compliance (225) 578-0990 bokerin@lsu.edu Blair Napolitano, Compliance Coordinator (225) 578-3891 blair@lsu.edu Miriam Segar, Associate Athletics Director for Student Services (225) 578-5785 msegar@lsu.edu Lance Glaser, Graduate Assistant (225) 578-4100 gglaser1@lsu.edu