The Division I Committee on Infractions has extended the current four-year probation for the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, by two years because of violations in the women's basketball program.

The current probation, the result of an infractions case involving the men's basketball program, was scheduled to end October 23, 2004, but the probationary period has been extended until October 22, 2006.

The violations, which occurred primarily in 1998 and 1999, involved bylaws governing extra benefits, recruiting, ethical conduct and institutional control. Though one major violation occurred during the time frame for the university to meet the criteria as a repeat violator, the Committee on Infractions chose not to impose any of the penalties for repeat violators. In addition, oversights by the university and NCAA enforcement staff delayed processing potential violations. The committee said it likely would have heard the violations as a part of the men's basketball case if timely processing of the information had occurred.

Some of the violations in the case concerned recruiting inducements, primarily in the form of housing and transportation arranged by the former head women's basketball coach. The head coach suggested that three student-athletes and a student manager offer housing to four prospects during the summer of 1998. The prospects moved into the house, where they received reduced-cost or free housing. The same summer, the head coach asked the mother of another prospect to allow the four prospective student-athletes to move into her house for about two weeks until campus housing opened. The coach also purchased four jackets, each valued at $15, for the prospects.

Also during 1998, the head coach directed a currently enrolled student-athlete and a student manager to participate in early morning workouts with one of the prospects. The head coach determined the specific skill instruction that was to be provided and told the student-athlete to provide daily progress reports from the workouts.

During the 2000-01 preseason period, the head coach directed a student assistant to oversee mandatory pick-up games with the women's team. The head coach provided the student assistant with instruction about such items as defensive alignments and team composition and requested that managers maintain the score and statistics.

In August 1999, the head coach provided transportation to one prospective student-athlete that eventually took her to the Minnesota State Fair. While there, the young woman and another prospect participated in a parade as representatives of the university's women's basketball program. That also was a violation of NCAA rules regarding impermissible announcement of the prospective student-athletes' intent to attend the university.

The committee found that the head coach violated the NCAA's ethical-conduct bylaws and made a finding of lack of institutional control against the university. In its report, the committee said, "the head coach's actions in numerous violations of NCAA legislation perpetuated an environment of noncompliance...the committee was troubled by the fact the university failed to react in a timely fashion to information indicating that violations had taken place in the women's basketball program."

The committee considered the following corrective actions and penalties self-imposed by Minnesota:

Termination of the contract of the head women's basketball coach, effective May 14, 2001.

The number of official visits in the women's basketball program were reduced from 12 to 10 for the 2001-02 and 2002-03 academic years.

The number of evaluation days in the women's basketball program were reduced from 40 to 35 for the 2001-02 and 2002-03 academic years.

The number of coaches permitted to evaluate off campus were reduced from three to two for the 2001-02 and 2002-03 academic years (including summers).

The number of evaluation days in July were reduced from 23 to 20 for the 2001-02 and 2002-03 academic years.

A letter of reprimand was issued to the compliance director.

The university enhanced NCAA rules compliance oversight and monitoring by developing a new system for submission and review of practice logs and instituting additional rules education for team council and athletics staff emphasizing expectations regarding NCAA rules compliance.

The university enhanced compliance educational efforts for coaches, student-athletes, parents, prospects and boosters by providing student-athletes, prospects and parents specific information on NCAA legislation regarding extra benefits and inducements; continuing educational programming emphasizing values and integrity for head, assistant coaches, staff and new employees; providing NCAA rules education for high-school coaches, AAU and other teams through vehicles such as clinics, camps or seminars, and requiring an AAU coach involved in an NCAA infraction to undertake individualized compliance education and training.

The university added an assistant director position in the compliance office to increase educational components regarding NCAA rules.

The Committee on Infractions accepted the actions taken by Minnesota. It imposed other penalties because of the involvement of the head coach in a number of the violations, a lack of institutional control and the university's recent history of infractions cases. The committee recognized, however, that Minnesota has taken steps to impose appropriate corrective measures, including dismissal of the former head women's basketball coach. The following additional penalties were imposed:

The university will be reprimanded and censured.

The university's probation will be extended for two years from October 23, 2004 (the end of the current four-year probation period from the 2000 men's basketball infractions case) to October 22, 2006.

The institution will reduce grants-in-aid in women's basketball by one during the 2003-04 and 2004-05 academic years. Under current rules, this limits the university to 14 total grants during those two years.

Official paid visits in women's basketball will be limited to no more than seven for the 2002-03 and 2003-04 academic years. The university proposed a limit of 10 visits for each of the 2001-02 and 2002-03 academic years.

The university will fully document coaching staff recruiting limitations it has imposed to the Committee on Infractions in its first annual compliance report.

During the 2002-03 academic year, the women's basketball team will delay the start of preseason basketball practice by seven days from the specified starting date.

The university compliance office will be notified about all prospective student-athletes who move to the Minneapolis area before full-time enrollment. The compliance office then will closely monitor any such prospective student-athlete to ensure no violations of NCAA legislation.

Had the head women's basketball coach still been employed in an athletically related capacity at the institution, the university would have been required to show cause why it should not be subject to additional penalties if it had failed to take appropriate disciplinary action.

The head women's basketball coach's current employing institution will be required to show cause why it should not be penalized if it does not prohibit her from off-campus recruiting for a period beginning July 8, 2002, and ending November 20, 2002, (the last day of the 2002 early signing period). Further, the head coach's current employer will prohibit the coach from participating in any manner with the first seven days of official preseason practice for the 2002-03 academic year. The university will submit a compliance report to the committee by May 15, 2003. The report should emphasize the institution's monitoring of and rules education sessions for the head women's basketball coach with particular emphasis on recruiting, practice and playing season legislation and ethical-conduct expectations of staff members employed at NCAA member institutions. The aforementioned reporting requirements for her current employing institution will be in effect from July 2, 2002, to July 1, 2004. Should the head women's basketball coach be employed by any other member institution before the end of the two-year period specified, the restrictions and reporting requirements set forth above shall remain in effect at the new institution for the balance of the two-year period.

During the probationary period, the university will continue to develop and implement a comprehensive education program on NCAA legislation and submit periodic reports to the NCAA. At the end of the probationary period, the university's president will provide a letter to the committee affirming that the university's current athletics policies and practices conform to all requirements of NCAA regulations.

As required by NCAA legislation for any institution involved in a major infractions case, Minnesota 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 (July 2, 2002).

The members of the Division I Committee on Infractions who heard this case are: Thomas Yeager, committee chair and commissioner, Colonial Athletic Association; Paul Dee, athletics director, University of Miami (Florida); Craig Littlepage, athletics director, University of Virginia; Gene Marsh, professor of law, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa; Andrea Myers, athletics director, Indiana State University; James Park Jr., attorney and retired judge, Frost Brown Todd, Lexington, Kentucky; and Josephine Potuto, professor of law, University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

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