The NCAA News - News FeaturesNovember 11, 1996
Slippery Rock receives two years of probation
The NCAA Committee on Infractions has placed the athletics program at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania on probation for two years for NCAA rules violations involving improper financial aid, recruiting, extra benefits, unethical conduct and payment for work not performed. In addition, the committee found a lack of institutional control resulting from the university's failure to adequately monitor its men's basketball program.
The Committee on Infractions considered the summary-disposition report for this case at its meeting June 2, 1996. On August 10, the Committee on Infractions held an expedited hearing at the request of the university concerning one proposed penalty.
The Committee on Infractions found NCAA rules violations, including:
* From the spring of 1993 through the fall of 1994, the head men's basketball coach provided improper financial assistance to five men's basketball student-athletes. The head coach used his personal funds and university funds he obtained by submitting an employment contract in a student-athlete's name for work, which the student-athlete did not perform. The money was used to pay costs of the students' tuition, off-campus housing and textbooks that were not part of their scholarships.
From the 1992-93 academic year through the fall of 1994, the head men's basketball coach arranged for nine student-athletes to receive a total of approximately $4,770 in payment for work not performed.
During the summer of 1992, the head men's basketball coach improperly assisted a student-athlete with paying for and getting an international airplane ticket at a reduced cost.
During the summers of 1991, 1992 and 1994, nine prospective student-athletes were employed at the institution's summer basketball camp and received a total of approximately $1,925 in impermissible compensation.
During the 1985-86 through 1993-94 academic years, the head men's basketball coach provided extra benefits to men's basketball student-athletes by paying the winners of shooting contests at practices.
From the fall of 1991 through the summer of 1994, the head men's basketball coach provided extra benefits to numerous student-athletes by allowing them to make personal long-distance telephone calls for free and by making cash loans to student-athletes.
During the summer of 1991 and spring of 1992, a booster had improper recruiting contact with and provided transportation for two prospective student-athletes.
There were various other recruiting and financial aid violations regarding the men's basketball program, as well as a secondary violation.
The university lacked appropriate institutional control over the administration of the men's basketball program.
The head men's basketball coach involved in this case violated NCAA standards of ethical conduct.
The case was handled under the summary-disposition procedures, which the institution and the NCAA enforcement staff can agree to follow in major infractions cases. This process may be used if the member institution, involved individuals and NCAA enforcement staff agree on the facts and that those facts constitute major violations of NCAA legislation. The institution proposes suggested penalties, which the Committee on Infractions can accept, reject or change.
In this case, the committee accepted the proposed penalties but decided to impose additional penalties. The university requested an expedited hearing to discuss one of the additional penalties.
The committee adopted the following penalties that were self-imposed by Slippery Rock:
The men's basketball team ended its 1995-96 season with its last regularly scheduled, in-season game and did not participate in any postseason competition.
Limited the number of men's basketball expense-paid visits to the institution's campus to three during the 1995-96 academic year.
Reduced the men's basketball recruiting budget for the 1995-96 academic year by 15 percent.
Slippery Rock took many corrective actions, which were considered by the committee in imposing its penalties, including:
Obtained the resignation of the head men's basketball coach in November 1994.
Reassigned the assistant men's basketball coach, who served as interim coach during the 1994-95 academic year, outside of athletics.
Hired new personnel with an emphasis on shared responsibility, particularly with regard to financial aid and student-athlete eligibility.
Hired an assistant director of athletics for compliance.
Appointed a new faculty athletics representative.
Established a university athletics supervisory committee with representation from admissions, academic records, financial aid, and academic advisement departments as well as from student government and the student-athlete advisory council.
Implemented monthly rules-education sessions for coaches and seasonal rules-education sessions for student-athletes and for other university staff members or offices with compliance responsibilities.
Prepared written policies for reporting rules violations and requesting rules interpretations.
Improved efforts to communicate with university boosters through a quarterly newsletter, coaches' letters, meetings, etc.
Is implementing a system to document recruiting activities.
Implemented a policy requiring all athletics financial aid to be awarded and tracked through the financial aid office. Also implemented procedures to monitor athletics department work study to ensure that student-athletes are paid only for hours worked.
Although the committee approved of the actions taken by the institution, it decided to impose additional penalties including:
Two years of probation from June 2, 1996, the date the committee considered the summary-disposition report.
The number of total athletics scholarships in men's basketball will be limited to a maximum of four each year for two academic years. The committee accepted the institution's limit of 3.58 during the 1995-96 academic year as one of those two years. The second year will be the 1997-98 academic year.
The number of men's basketball expense-paid visits to the institution's campus will be limited to three during the 1996-97 academic year.
Recertification of the university's athletics policies and practices.
Development of a comprehensive educational program on NCAA rules.
Public reprimand and censure.
The institution may be penalized further if it fails to disassociate a booster from the athletics program based on his involvement in NCAA rules violations. The disassociation will be for at least the probationary period.
If the former head men's basketball coach seeks employment in an athletically related position at an NCAA member institution during a three-year period, from November 4, 1994, to November 4, 1997, he and the involved institution will be asked to appear before the Committee on Infractions to determine whether the former head coach's athletically related duties should be limited at the new institution.
The committee also noted that if the former head men's basketball coach had still been employed by the university and the university failed to take appropriate disciplinary action against him, the university might have been subject to additional penalties.
As required by NCAA legislation for any institution in a major infractions case, Slippery Rock is subject to the NCAA's repeat-violator provisions for a five-year period beginning on the effective date of penalties in this case, June 2, 1996.
Slippery Rock and the former head men's basketball coach admitted the violations of NCAA rules under the summary-disposition process. Because the university and the involved coach agreed to participate in this process and accepted the findings of violations in the infractions report, they waived the right to appeal the findings made in this case. The coach also agreed to the penalty involving him, waiving the right to appeal the penalty. The university may appeal the penalties imposed in the case to the Division II Steering Committee of the NCAA Council.
The members of the Committee on Infractions who heard this case are Richard J. Dunn, divisional dean of humanities, University of Washington; Jack H. Friedenthal, dean of the school of law, George Washington University; Roy F. Kramer, commissioner, Southeastern Conference; Frederick B. Lacey, attorney, LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene and MacRae, and a retired judge; Beverly E. Ledbetter, vice-president and general counsel, Brown University; James L. Richmond, retired judge and attorney; and committee chair David Swank, professor of law, University of Oklahoma.
The complete report of the Committee on Infractions will be published in the December 2 issue of The NCAA Register.
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