The NCAA Division III Committee on Infractions has banned MacMurray College's men's tennis program from outside competition for two years for providing impermissible financial aid to international student-athletes.

The college, a Division III institution located in Jacksonville, Illinois, was also placed on probation until May 3, 2009.

"The committee is invoking NCAA Bylaw 19.5.2.2 (j) and prohibiting this institution from participating in any outside competition in the sport of men's tennis for the 2005-06 and 2006-07 academic years (the first two years of probation). The committee recognizes the seriousness and significance of such a penalty," the committee's public infractions report states.

The team will also be banned from postseason competition for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 academic years.

The case involved the team's former head coach arranging with his father a scholarship fund for international students. Over four years, 10 tennis student-athletes were awarded more than $162,000 from the fund and direct payments made to their accounts by the father. Only men's tennis student-athletes received the funds.

Following the discovery of the violations, the institution removed the former head coach from his position.

The committee felt a ban from competition was warranted because the former head coach, with the knowledge and consent of institutional administrative personnel, intentionally violated the Division III philosophy that no athletically related financial aid shall be given to student-athletes.

"The committee is troubled by the former head coach's dismissive attitude toward NCAA rules; at one point during the hearing he referred to the rules as a 'joke' and during the discussion of Finding II-C (impermissible benefits) he referred to the violations as 'casual sorts of things' '' the committee stated.

The amount of aid and the number of student-athletes involved, which the committee said resulted in a significant competitive advantage for the men's tennis program, were also cited as reasons for the ban.

In addition to findings that student-athletes were provided with impermissible grants-in-aid, financial aid and benefits, the committee also reached a finding of unethical conduct against the former head coach and a lack of institutional control against the school.

While the enforcement staff, the institution and the former head coach were in agreement on the facts of the case, the former head coach denied that he violated the principles of ethical conduct. According to the report, the former head coach told the committee during the hearing that scholarships were given "to help deserving students receive an education."

"While he no doubt had a sincere desire to help the young men, the committee noted that all of the 10 individuals he assisted competed for the team he coached and that the former head coach was aware of the tennis prowess of nine of them at the time he was assisting them in coming to the institution," the report reads.

The committee stated that the lack of institutional control finding was warranted because the school's compliance policies, which consisted of the former athletics director distributing NCAA policies and recruiting information to coaches, were inadequate.

The athletics director, who resigned six weeks prior to the institution's hearing before the Committee on Infractions, was not present at the hearing to provide additional details.

The committee credited the institution for making improvements to its compliance system since the violations were discovered.

Additional penalties include:

• The institution will be publicly reprimanded and censured.

• The university forfeited the one match it played in 2004 and canceled the remainder of the season.

• All contests during the 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2004-05 academic years in which the 10 student-athletes competed shall be vacated.

• The former head coach will be informed that should he seek employment or any affiliation related to athletics at an NCAA member institution during the next four years, both he and the hiring institution must appear before the Committee on Infractions to determine whether he may do so.

• All institutional personnel with any oversight over athletics or eligibility must attend within one year an NCAA regional seminar to learn more about compliance.

During the probationary period, the university shall continue to develop and implement a comprehensive educational program on NCAA legislation, including seminars and testing designed for coaches, the faculty athletics representative, athletics department personnel, and university staff responsible for certification of student-athletes for admission, retention, financial aid or competition.

The university must submit a preliminary report to the NCAA Division III Committee on Infractions by July 15, 2005, that includes a schedule for establishing the compliance and educational program. It must also file annual compliance reports indicating progress made with this program.

The members of the NCAA Division III Committee on Infractions who heard the case are Mary Jo Gunning, athletics director, Marywood University; Branwen Smith-King, senior woman administrator, Tufts University; Gerald Young, associate athletics director, Carleton College (acting chair); and Ken Magarian, special assistant to the president, Westfield State College.