National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- September 28, 1998

Division I -- Infractions case: University of Louisville

The Division I Committee on Infractions has banned the men's basketball program at the University of Louisville from postseason competition during the 1998-99 season and placed the institution on three years of probation.

The violations were of NCAA bylaws governing extra benefits, recruiting, financial aid, institutional control and ethical conduct and involved the sports of women's volleyball and men's basketball.

The committee levied other penalties, including reducing the number of financial aid awards in women's volleyball and men's basketball and imposed NCAA "show-cause" requirements on a former assistant women's volleyball coach and a former assistant men's basketball coach.

If the former assistant volleyball coach seeks employment or affiliation in an athletics position at an NCAA member institution during a five-year period ending August 9, 2003, she and the involved school must appear before the committee to determine if the coach's athletically related duties should be limited for a designated period.

The former assistant men's basketball coach, who no longer has coaching duties, is subject to similar "show cause" requirements through August 9, 2001.

The Committee on Infractions had placed Louisville on probation for two years, effective September 21, 1996, for recruiting and extra benefits violations in the men's basketball program. One of the current violations occurred within five years of the starting date of the previous penalties; therefore, the NCAA's repeat-violator provisions apply to this case.

Because only one of the major violations in the case occurred within the five-year repeat-violator period, the committee did not impose all of the penalties prescribed for repeat violators.

Between September 1996 and April 1997, an assistant men's basketball coach arranged for the father of a student-athlete on the men's team to live at a local motel at a reduced rate for approximately two months. The coach also provided his credit card to the motel as an assurance that the student-athlete's father would pay an outstanding bill. Charges accumulated until April 1997 when the student-athlete's father paid the bill.

There also were violations of NCAA bylaws by members of the women's volleyball staff during the spring and summer months of 1996 regarding impermissible lodging, transportation, financial assistance, and assistance with enrollment at the university.

For example, an assistant volleyball coach withdrew funds from her volleyball camp account to pay the cost of a prospective student-athlete's health insurance. The assistant also made a donation to a local charity, which in turn used the money to pay the cost of a prospective student-athlete's enrollment in a summer program. In addition, on numerous occasions during the summer of 1996, local auto transportation was provided to prospective student-athletes before their enrollment.

One assistant women's volleyball coach violated the NCAA principles of ethical conduct by her knowing involvement in violations of NCAA legislation.

The committee also found that the university and the head women's volleyball coach failed to exercise appropriate institutional control and monitoring of the conduct and administration of the women's volleyball program and monitoring of members of the women's volleyball staff concerning their activities with two student-athletes. The university also failed to educate adequately the head volleyball coach on NCAA legislation.

On August 9, representatives of the NCAA enforcement staff, the institution and Conference USA appeared at a hearing before the committee. The head women's volleyball coach, one of the assistant women's volleyball coaches involved in the case, the head men's basketball coach and the assistant men's basketball coach also were present.

The specific violations found by the committee included:

  • During the spring and summer of 1996, members of the women's volleyball staff provided financial assistance, temporary lodging, local automobile transportation and other recruiting inducements to two prospective student-athletes.

  • During July 1996, the head women's volleyball coach provided automobile transportation to two prospective student-athletes.

  • During the summer of 1996, the institution provided athletically related financial aid in the form of dormitory housing to two prospective student-athletes.

  • During July 1996, the head women's volleyball coach arranged an out-of-season tryout/practice for prospective and enrolled student-athletes.

  • During the 1996-97 academic year, the head women's volleyball coach provided automobile transportation and the use of university computers to two student-athletes and temporary lodging to one student-athlete.

  • During June 1996, an assistant women's volleyball coach arranged for a prospective student-athlete to receive dental treatment free of charge.

  • One of the assistant women's volleyball coaches involved in this case violated the NCAA principles of ethical conduct.

  • There was a lack of institutional control in the women's volleyball program.

  • During the fall of 1996, an assistant men's basketball coach arranged for the father of a student-athlete to receive a favorable room rate at a local motel, and subsequently provided the motel with his credit card in order to guarantee payment of the room charges.

    In determining the appropriate penalties to impose, the committee considered the institution's self-imposed corrective actions:

  • Refused to renew an assistant women's volleyball coach's employment contract.

  • Suspended the head women's volleyball coach from all coaching duties without pay from August 1 to August 31, 1997.

  • Froze the 1997-98 salary of the head women's volleyball coach at the 1996-97 level.

  • Required the head women's volleyball coach, the head men's basketball coach and a former assistant men's basketball coach to attend, at their own cost, an NCAA Regional Rules Compliance Seminar.

  • Placed the head women's volleyball coach on probation from September 1, 1997, to September 1, 1999.

  • Sent letters of reprimand to the head women's volleyball coach, a former assistant women's volleyball coach, the head men's basketball coach and a former assistant men's basketball coach.

  • Placed a former assistant men's basketball coach on probation from June 25, 1997, to July 1, 1998.

  • Froze the 1997-98 salary of a former assistant men's basketball coach.

  • Required the head men's basketball coach to submit monthly administrative reports to the director of athletics.

  • Required the head men's basketball coach to attend all athletics department compliance meetings.

    The committee adopted as its own the following penalties proposed and self-imposed by the institution:

  • Cancellation of the women's volleyball team's 1997 preseason competition in Japan.

  • Forfeiture of all contests won by the women's volleyball team during 1996.

  • Reduction by one in the number of official visits in women's volleyball for the 1997-98 academic year.

    Because of the lack of institutional control over the women's volleyball program and the institution's status as a repeat violator, the committee imposed additional penalties. The complete list of penalties includes:

  • Public reprimand and censure.

  • Three years of probation.

  • Ban of postseason competition for the men's basketball team in 1998-99. The men's team also is prohibited from participating in preseason or exempted events (this penalty may be deferred to 1999-2000 if there are existing commitments).

  • Reduction by three in the number of permissible financial aid awards in women's volleyball during the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 academic years, with a reduction of at least one scholarship during each academic year.

  • Reduction by one in the number of permissible financial aid awards in men's basketball during the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 academic years.

  • Limit of six expense-paid visits in women's volleyball during 1998-99 and 1999-2000.

  • Requirement that the institution continue development and implementation of comprehensive educational and compliance programs, with annual reports to the committee during the period of probation.

  • Recertification of current athletics policies and practices.

  • Show-cause requirement regarding a former assistant women's volleyball coach for five years and a former assistant men's basketball coach for three years.

    As required by NCAA legislation for any institution involved in a major infractions case, Louisville again is subject to the provisions of the NCAA's repeat violators legislation for a five-year period beginning on the effective date of the penalties of this case, August 9, 1998.

    The members of the Division I Committee on Infractions who heard this case are Yvonne L. (Bonnie) Slatton, chair, department of physical education and sports studies, University of Iowa (acting chair); Richard J. Dunn, professor of English, University of Washington; Jack H. Friedenthal, professor of law, George Washington University; Frederick B. Lacey, attorney and retired judge, LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, Newark, New Jersey; James Park Jr., attorney and retired judge, Brown, Todd & Heyburn, Lexington, Kentucky; and Thomas E. Yeager, commissioner, Colonial Athletic Association.