National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

May 12, 1997

UCLA receives three years of probation

The NCAA Committee on Infractions placed the University of California, Los Angeles, on probation for three years for NCAA rules violations concerning institutional control, financial aid and ethical conduct.

The committee found these violations resulted in a significant competitive advantage for the university in softball.

As a result of these violations, the university is prohibited from participating in any postseason competition in softball during the 1996-97 season and will be required to vacate its 1995 NCAA Division I Women's Softball Championship records and awards.

The violations involved the misapplication of NCAA legislation that defines multiple-sport student-athletes for the purpose of counting their athletically related financial aid against team limits. Specifically, NCAA bylaws require that to be considered multisport participants, these student-athletes should participate fully in practice with each squad; should participate in actual competition in each sport; should be members of each squad for the entire playing and practice season; and if recruited, should have been recruited to participate in the sport in which financial aid is counted.

The committee found that in 1993-94 and 1994-95, athletics administrators at UCLA improperly applied the multisport participant rule and counted three softball student-athletes against soccer financial aid limits instead of softball limits. As a result, the university incorrectly concluded that additional financial aid was available in softball.

By then awarding financial aid to two transfer student-athletes, the university exceeded team limits for softball and gained a significant competitive advantage. One of the student-athletes was an outstanding softball player who helped UCLA win the 1995 NCAA Division I Women's Softball Championship.

The NCAA Committee on Infractions heard this case February 1, 1997. Representatives of the university, the Pacific-10 Conference and the NCAA enforcement staff appeared before the committee.

The violations found by the committee were:

  • During the 1993-94 and 1994-95 academic years, the university exceeded the permissible number of financial aid awards allowed in softball when it incorrectly counted three softball student-athletes against the financial aid limits in women's soccer, even though they did not meet the requirements of a multisport participant under Bylaw 15.5.7.8.1.

  • There was a lack of institutional control.

  • The senior associate director of athletics involved in this case violated the NCAA standards of ethical conduct.

    In determining appropriate penalties, the committee considered UCLA's corrective actions, including:

  • The salary of the cohead softball coach involved in this case was frozen for one year.

  • The university changed its administrative structure so that the director of compliance reports directly to the faculty athletics representative on all compliance matters.

  • The university implemented a system to ensure greater accountability by coaches and administrators regarding financial aid.

    The Committee on Infractions adopted as its own the following penalty self-imposed by the university and conference:

  • Removal of a senior associate director of athletics from her position in athletics.

    Because of the significant competitive advantage gained, the nature of the violations and the individuals involved, the committee imposed other penalties, including:

  • Three years of probation, from February 1, 1997.

  • Prohibition from participating in postseason competition in softball during the 1996-97 season.

  • Reduction by three in the number of permissible financial aid awards in softball during each of the 1997-98 and 1998-99 academic years.

  • Requirement that during the period of probation, the institution count multisport student-athletes who participate on the softball team against its financial aid awards in softball, except as required otherwise by NCAA rules.

  • Vacation of the 1995 NCAA softball championship records and awards.

  • Requirement that the institution continue to develop a comprehensive athletics compliance education program, with annual reports to the committee during the period of probation.

  • Recertification of current athletics policies and practices.

    As required by NCAA legislation for any institution in a major infractions case, UCLA 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, February 1, 1997.

    Should the University of California, Los Angeles, or the senior associate athletics director involved in this case wish to appeal this decision, they must submit a written notice of appeal to the NCAA executive director no later than 15 days from the date of this release. The Infractions Appeals Committee, a separate group of people, hears such appeals.

    The members of the Committee on Infractions who heard this case are Jack H. Friedenthal, dean of law school, George Washington University; Roy F. Kramer, commissioner, Southeastern Conference; Frederick B. Lacey, attorney, LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene and MacRae and a retired judge; Beverly E. Ledbetter, vice-president and general counsel, Brown University; James L. Richmond, retired judge and attorney, Rowe, New Mexico; Yvonne (Bonnie) L. Slatton, chair of the department of physical education and sports studies, University of Iowa; and committee chair, David Swank, professor of law, University of Oklahoma.

    The full report of the Committee on Infractions will be published in the June 2 issue of The NCAA News.