National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

August 4, 1997

California penalized in basketball infractions case

The NCAA Committee on Infractions has placed the University of California, Berkeley, on probation for three years for NCAA rules violations in the sport of men's basketball.

The violations were of bylaws governing recruiting, extra benefits, ethical conduct and institutional responsibility to monitor the program.

In addition, the university is prohibited from participating in any postseason competition in men's basketball during the 1997-98 season and will be required to vacate its 1996 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship records and awards. As a self-imposed penalty, the university will return 90 percent of its share of revenue from the tournament. It also dismissed the men's basketball head coach.

The committee also cut by two the number of permissible financial aid awards in the sport for both 1998-99 and 1999-2000 and will require the former head men's basketball coach and any NCAA member school that desires to hire him in an athletically related position to appear before the committee. This show-cause requirement extends through June 1, 2005.

This case centered on the payment of significant sums of money to the parents of a California student-athlete (approximately $30,000 over two years) by the head men's basketball coach. In the spring of 1994, the coach entered into an agreement with the parents to pay them $15,000 for each year their son participated in basketball at the university.

Payments were made during the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons through a friend of the men's head coach and other individuals. The committee found that there was no evidence that the student-athlete was aware of the agreement during the period in which the payments were made.

The head coach added to the seriousness of the violations by continuing to deny his involvement until a few days before the committee's hearing and by providing false and misleading information to the university and the NCAA enforcement staff on several occasions during the investigation.

Although this is the third time since 1988 that the university has appeared before the Committee on Infractions, the most recent case in 1995 was ruled a secondary violation. Therefore, the university was not subject to the repeat-violator provisions at the time of the current violations.

However, the committee noted that the 1995 case involved the same sport and the same head coach and occurred at the same time that the coach was already involved in the current violations. In fact, the head coach made two payments to the parents of the student-athlete just weeks before the hearing in the 1995 case.

The NCAA Committee on Infractions heard this case on June 1, 1997. Representatives of the university, the Pacific-10 Conference and the NCAA enforcement staff appeared before the committee. The former head men's basketball coach was also present.

The violations found by the committee included:

  • In the spring of 1994, the head men's basketball coach authorized a friend to offer the parents of a prospective student-athlete $15,000 for each year the prospective student-athlete competed at the university. In the spring and fall of 1994, the head coach provided a total of $15,000 to his friend, which was then given to the prospective student-athlete's family.

  • During the summer and fall of 1995, the head men's basketball coach continued the payments to the parents of the student-athlete and provided a total of $15,000 in four payments.

  • The head men's basketball coach involved in this case violated the NCAA standards of ethical conduct.

  • During the 1993-94, 1994-95 and 1995-96 academic years, the institution failed to monitor adequately the travel expenses of the head men's basketball coach.

    In determining appropriate penalties, the committee considered the university's corrective action and self-imposed penalties, including:

  • Obtaining the resignation of the head men's basketball coach early in the investigation.

  • Returning 90 percent of its share of revenue from the 1996 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.

    The university proposed that as a penalty it would forfeit two scholarships during the 1997-98 season and one during the 1998-99 season. The committee decided not to accept the university's financial aid penalty because scholarships remained for the 1997-98 year and the recruiting season was nearly ended.

    Because of the involvement of the head coach, the seriousness of the violations, the significant recruiting and competitive advantage, the length of time over which these violations occurred, and the fact that these violations were occurring during the prior case, the committee imposed other penalties, including:

  • Public reprimand and censure.

  • Three years of probation.

  • Prohibition from participating in postseason competition in men's basketball during the 1997-98 season.

  • Reduction by two in the number of permissible financial aid awards in men's basketball during each of the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 academic years.

  • Forfeiture of the men's basketball contests in which the student-athlete involved in this case participated during the 1994-95 and 1995-96 academic years, including vacating the 1996 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship records.

  • Requirement that the institution continue to develop a comprehensive athletics compliance education program, with annual reports to the committee during the period of probation.

  • Recertification of current athletics policies and practices.

  • Show-cause requirement regarding the former head men's basketball coach for eight years.

    As required by NCAA legislation for any institution in a major infractions case, the University of California, Berkeley, is subject to the NCAA's repeat violator provisions for a five-year period beginning on the effective date of the penalties in this case, June 1, 1997.

    Should the university or the former head men's basketball coach involved in this case wish to appeal this decision, they must submit a written notice appeal to the NCAA executive director no later than 15 days from the date of this release. The Infractions Appeals Committee, a separate group, hears such appeals.

    The members of the Committee on Infractions who heard this case are Jack H. Friedenthal, dean 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; Yvonne (Bonnie) L. Slatton, chair of the department of physical education and sports studies, University of Iowa; and committee chair, David Swank, professor of law, University of Oklahoma.

    The complete report of the Committee on Infractions will be published in the September 1 issue of The NCAA Register.