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The NCAA News -- March 1, 1999

Infractions case: University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa

The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions has placed "show-cause" requirements on a former assistant men's basketball coach at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, for violations involving recruiting and ethical conduct. Because of effective institutional control and proactive compliance by the university regarding the case, no institutional penalties were imposed.

The violations centered on an effort by a former assistant men's basketball coach to obtain money from representatives of the institution's athletics interests that was to be used for recruiting purposes. The former assistant also provided false and misleading information to university and NCAA enforcement staff and violated rules regarding the number of weekly telephone contacts permitted with prospective student-athletes or their families.

The former assistant met with two representatives of the university's athletics interests and another individual in January 1998. During the meeting, the former assistant stated that $5,000 was needed to assist with the recruitment of a prospective student-athlete. The former assistant also visited one of the representatives later that day to discuss the same topic.

The representatives informed the university of the attempted solicitation, and the university conducted an immediate investigation with the assistance of the Southeastern Conference and the NCAA enforcement staff.

The former assistant coach, who was suspended and later terminated, is subject to NCAA show-cause provisions for a period of four years (May 1, 1998 through April 30, 2002). If the former coach seeks employment or affiliation in an athletically related position at a member school, he and the school must appear before the committee to determine whether the individual's athletically related duties should be limited for a designated period of time.

The violations found by the committee were:

  • The assistant men's basketball coach attempted to obtain money from representatives of the university's athletics interests following the oral commitment of a prospective student-athlete, who at the time was a junior in high school.

  • The assistant men's basketball coach violated NCAA legislation limiting the number of weekly telephone calls to prospective student-athletes.

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

    On November 15, 1998, representatives of the enforcement staff and the institution appeared before the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions. The former assistant provided a written response but did not appear before the committee.

    The case was classified as a major infraction because it involved serious individual violation of recruiting legislation and unethical conduct. However, the committee commended the university for its effective institutional control and compliance measures.

    The committee said the university took necessary steps to create a proactive rules compliance program following its 1995 major infractions case and period of probation. The rep-resentatives of the university's athletics interests informed the university of the incident, the university reported the alleged violations to the NCAA, it immediately investigated, and took personnel action. The actions demonstrated the success of institutional controls developed since the 1995 case.

    Though there was no institutional penalty, as required by NCAA legislation for any institution involved in a major infractions case, Alabama 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, November 18, 1998.

    The members of the Division I Committee on Infractions who heard this case are: David Swank, committee chair, professor of law, University of Oklahoma; Alice Gresham Bullock, dean, Howard University School of Law; Richard J. Dunn, professor of English, University of Washington; 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; Yvonne (Bonnie) L. Slatton, chair, department of physical education and sports studies, University of Iowa; and Thomas E. Yeager, commissioner, Colonial Athletic Association.

    A copy of the complete report from the Division I Committee on Infractions is available upon request or on NCAA Online at www.ncaa.org.