The NCAA News - News and Features

January 19, 1998

Infractions findings, penalties against UTEP athletics upheld

The NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee has upheld findings of violations and penalties involving the University of Texas at El Paso athletics program, except for a penalty involving football grants-in-aid, which has been reduced.

The university appealed eight penalties in a major infractions case, including a five-year probation imposed by the NCAA Committee on Infractions and grant-in-aid penalties in football, men's basketball and women's basketball. It also appealed the Committee on Infractions findings in the case that provided the basis for the penalties.

The Infractions Appeals Committee agreed that it is appropriate to reduce a grant-in-aid penalty assessed against the UTEP football program, in recognition of the head football coach's persistent questioning of a favorable but improper interpretation of NCAA financial aid legislation by the university. As a result, the committee will permit the football program to award 21 initial grants-in-aid to football student-athletes in each of two years during the penalty period, instead of the limit of 20 awards set by the Committee on Infractions. It also will permit the program to increase the number of overall grants-in-aid from 78 to 79 during one of those years and from 80 to 81 in the other year.

The original decision concerning UTEP was issued by the NCAA Committee on Infractions May 1, 1997. The institution filed a notice of appeal May 16, 1997. The Infractions Appeals Committee heard the appeal during its October 30, 1997, meeting.

The institution asserted that the penalties were inappropriate and excessive when compared to those assessed by the Committee on Infractions in previous cases and when considered under standards for penalty review that previously have been adopted by the Infractions Appeals Committee.

In considering the appeal, the Infractions Appeals Committee reviewed the findings appealed by the institution. It determined that the Committee on Infractions acted within its authority when it found that UTEP improperly helped two prospective student-athletes in men's and women's basketball enroll in and complete correspondence courses, and that the violation was major. The Infractions Appeals Committee also upheld findings that the following violations were major: two student-athletes competed in men's basketball while ineligible; a men's basketball student-athlete and two football student-athletes received athletically related financial aid even though they did not meet NCAA academic eligibility requirements; and the university improperly paid drop/add fees for numerous scholarship student-athletes and permitted free use by student-athletes of a photocopy machine.

In addition, the committee upheld a finding that UTEP's failure to declare a men's basketball student-athlete ineligible in a timely manner under NCAA satisfactory-progress requirements resulted from a lack of institutional control.

Turning to the penalties appealed by the institution, the Infractions Appeals Committee determined that the grant-in-aid penalties involving men's and women's basketball were not excessive or inappropriate, based on the findings in the case.

It also determined that the Committee on Infractions, in assessing the five-year probation, appropriately weighed the institution's cooperation in the case against its status as a repeat violator (stemming from a three-year probation assessed against the institution in 1991) and its failure to report violations in a timely manner.

The members of the Infractions Appeals Committee who heard this case were Katherine E. Noble, associate commissioner, Big Sky Conference; David Price, associate commissioner, Pacific-10 Conference; Michael L. Slive, commissioner, Conference USA (chair); Robert A. Stein, executive director and chief operating officer, American Bar Association; and John W. Stoepler, dean of law, emeritus, and professor of law, University of Toledo.

The full report of the Infractions Appeals Committee will be published in the February 2 issue of The NCAA Register.