Download the Hunter College Public Infractions Decision
A Hunter College employee violated NCAA ethical conduct rules when he falsified entrance exam records so that student-athletes could be admitted to the school, according to a decision issued by the NCAA Division III Committee on Infractions. As a result, seven prospects were fraudulently admitted to the school.
Penalties in this case include one year of probation, a vacation of records in which student-athletes competed while ineligible and a five-year show-cause order for the employee. During that period, he is prohibited from involvement with the testing and admission of prospects and student-athletes at any NCAA member school.
This case was resolved through the summary disposition process, a cooperative effort in which the involved parties collectively submit the case to the Committee on Infractions in written form. The NCAA enforcement staff and the college must agree to the facts of the case in order for this process to be used instead of having a formal hearing.
Over the course of four years, an information systems employee accessed the school’s academics database and tampered with entrance and placement exam records to allow at least seven prospects to be admitted to the school. As a result, five of the seven student-athletes competed while ineligible after enrolling at the school. The employee later attempted to destroy relevant information to the case and did not respond to requests to be interviewed during the investigation. The case did not include failure to monitor or lack of control violations.
The penalties include:
- Public reprimand and censure.
- One year of probation from May 26, 2016, through May 25, 2017.
- A five-year show-cause order for the information systems employee. During that period, he is prohibited from involvement with the testing and admission of prospects and student-athletes at NCAA member schools. If a member school hires the employee during the period, the school must agree with the conditions of the show-cause order, or request an appearance before the committee to contest the conditions.
- A vacation of records in which the five student-athletes competed while ineligible. The school will identify the games impacted after the release of the public report.
- At least once during the next two years, the athletics director, chief compliance administrator and admissions staff member who oversees the admission of student-athletes must attend an NCAA Regional Rules Seminar.
- The school permanently disassociated the information systems employee. Terms of the disassociation can be found in the public report (self-imposed by the school).
The members of the Division III Committee on Infractions who reviewed this case included Amy Hackett, committee chair and director of athletics at the University of Puget Sound; Effel Harper, faculty athletics representative at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor; Tracey Hathaway, associate director of athletics for compliance and student-athlete welfare at the University of Massachusetts Boston; Gerald Houlihan, attorney in private practice; and Gerald Young, athletics director at Carleton College.