National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2008
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The NCAA Division I Infractions Appeals Committee has upheld the findings of unethical conduct and a four-year show cause penalty, among other violations and sanctions, for the former head men’s soccer coach at West Virginia University.
Pursuant to the show cause penalty, should the former head coach seek athletically related employment with another NCAA institution other than his current employer during this time period, he and the hiring institution must appear before the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions to determine whether his duties should be limited.
The Committee on Infractions released its findings regarding the West Virginia violations in May 2007. The committee determined that the case involved three allegations of major violations.
The first of these violations centered around the former head coach’s summer employment by an outside amateur team, during which he coached current men’s soccer student-athletes from the university and prospective student-athletes.
The second set of allegations involved infractions that arose out of the presence of prospective student-athletes on campus prior to their initial full-time enrollment. Specifically, the violations involved recruiting inducements in the form of cost-free housing.
The third and most serious allegation concerned unethical conduct by the former coach.
In his appeal, the former head coach challenged the findings of the violations on the grounds that they were clearly contrary to the evidence presented to the Committee on Infractions. In addition, he asserted that the facts found by the Committee on Infractions do not constitute a violation of NCAA rules, and that a procedural error affected the reliability of the information that was used to support the committee’s findings. He also claimed that the penalty imposed was excessive and inappropriate.
However, in its consideration of this case, the Infractions Appeals Committee found that the record contained evidence sufficient to support the Committee on Infractions’ findings of violations, and that the findings were not clearly contrary to the evidence. In addition, it was found that any procedural errors did not affect the reliability of the evidence on which the Committee on Infractions relied.
In considering the former head coach’s appeal, the Infractions Appeals Committee reviewed the notice of appeal; the transcripts of the university’s hearings before the Committee on Infractions; and the submissions by the former head coach and the Committee on Infractions in preparation for this appellate decision.
The members of the Infractions Appeals Committee who heard this case were: Christopher L. Griffin, Foley & Lardner LLP, chair; Susan Cross Lipnickey, Miami University (Ohio); Noel M. Ragsdale, University of Southern California; Allan A. Ryan Jr., Harvard University; and David Williams, Vanderbilt University.