[Official Press Release]
The University of Central Florida exhibited a lack of institutional control and was responsible for impermissible recruiting activities and extra benefits, according to a decision announced today by the Division I Committee on Infractions.
The case centered on what the committee noted was an ever-increasing problem in college athletics today, namely the involvement of outside third parties with prospects and student-athletes. This impermissible activity also resulted in findings of unethical conduct for the former director of athletics and a former assistant football coach and a failure to monitor by the head men’s basketball coach.
According to the findings, the impermissible recruiting activity undertaken by these third parties, who through their activity became athletics representatives of UCF, was both known by athletics department personnel, and, in some cases encouraged. As a result of the activity, the penalties in this case include five years of probation, a postseason ban in men’s basketball and football, show-cause orders for athletics department personnel, scholarship reductions, recruiting restrictions, a vacation of men’s basketball records and a $50,000 fine.
Two athletics representatives, one of whom was a nonscholastic coach, had significant telephone, off-campus and on-campus recruiting contact with six men’s basketball and five football prospective student-athletes. The nonscholastic coach’s recruiting activity led several prospects and parents to believe that he was a coach for the university.
It was evident that this athletics representative “was making an effort to develop a network of relationships with prospective student-athletes and, in turn, expand his sphere of influence within the collegiate coaching community,” according to the committee’s report.
Additionally, the representatives provided more than $16,000 to three prospects and two UCF student-athletes. Specifically, the representatives provided travel expenses, cash payments, tuition and a laptop computer.
The former director of athletics and the former assistant football coach engaged in unethical activity, according to the committee’s findings. Both individuals knowingly provided false and misleading information during interviews with UCF compliance and NCAA enforcement staff. Further, the former director of athletics failed to take steps to prevent the involvement of boosters in recruiting activities, and on at least one occasion, he became involved in a violation as a result of the representatives’ activity. The former director of athletics claimed that he was not aware of recruiting rules and thus did not know he was engaging in impermissible activity. The committee noted, “As the leader of the athletics department, it is incumbent upon the director of athletics to know basic rules governing the Association.”
The head men’s basketball coach failed to monitor when he did not stop or discourage the representatives’ activities, ask reasonable questions about the circumstances or report the violations. The report notes, “A head coach is not required to investigate wrongdoing, but is expected to recognize potential NCAA violations, address them and report them to the athletics administration.”
Because of the scope and nature of the findings, UCF lacked institutional control. This finding is supported by the fact that the UCF athletics department staff allowed third parties to be involved in recruiting activity and gave these individuals benefits and favors, including event tickets and access to the program.
