National Collegiate Athletic Association |
The NCAA News - News and FeaturesThe NCAA News -- January 18, 1999 Infractions appeal: Southeast Missouri State University The NCAA Division I Infractions Appeals Committee has upheld a penalty involving the former head men's basketball coach at Southeast Missouri State University. The former coach appealed findings and penalties of the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions. His appeal asserted that the three-year show-cause penalty imposed by the Committee on Infractions did not support the findings made and that a procedural error affected the reliability of the evidence presented. The show-cause penalty imposed on the former coach would require any NCAA member institution seeking to employ the former coach in an athletically related position during the next three years to appear before the Committee on Infractions. The Committee on Infractions would be responsible for determining whether the former coach's duties should be limited for a designated period of time. The former coach appealed the following findings made by the Division I Committee on Infractions:
In addition, the former coach completed the student-athlete's time sheets and signed both his and the student-athlete's names on the document without the student-athlete's knowledge.
Upon a review of the record, the Division I Infractions Appeals Committee determined that the findings of the Committee on Infractions were not clearly contrary to the evidence, the standard required by NCAA Bylaw 32.10.2(a). The Infractions Appeals Committee determined that the record contained evidence from several student-athletes and one team manager that supported the Committee on Infractions' finding that a student-athlete manager did not perform duties totaling 243 hours, as reported by the coaching staff. In addition, the Infractions Appeals Committee did not find that a procedural error affected the reliability of the information that was used to support the Committee on Infractions' findings. The former coach asserted that a procedural error occurred as a result of the NCAA enforcement staff's failure to conduct a full investigation. In its decision, the Infractions Appeals Committee noted that the enforcement staff is charged with developing sufficient evidence to support its case before the Committee on Infractions. The Infractions Appeals Committee concluded that the former coach had the burden of bringing forth additional evidence favorable to his position. The former coach's obligation cannot be discharged by alleging that enforcement staff should have produced such evidence. The Infractions Appeals Committee's review of the second finding found evidence from several student-athletes that supported the Committee on Infractions' conclusion that the former coach provided money to assist in the payment of a men's basketball student-athlete's overdue telephone bill. The Infractions Appeals Committee also concluded that the findings involving the former coach knowingly arranging for a student-athlete to receive compensation for work he did not perform and providing false and misleading information to the institution and the NCAA enforcement staff were clearly not contrary to the evidence. The members of the Division I Infractions Appeals Committee who heard the case are: Katherine E. Noble, Big Sky Conference; Terry Don Phillips, Oklahoma State University; Michael L. Slive, chair, Conference USA; Robert A. Stein, American Bar Association; and Marilyn V. Yarbrough, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. A copy of the complete report from the NCAA Division I Infractions Appeals Committee is available upon request or via NCAA Online (www.ncaa.org). |