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For Immediate Release

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Contact(s)

Stacey Osburn
Associate Director of Public and Media Relations
317/917-6117

INDIANAPOLIS---The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions has found that University of Central Florida has committed major violations in its football program. The case centers on at least 209 impermissible telephone calls and approximately 100 text messages over a period of almost 18 months to 27 prospective student-athletes and/or their parents.

Penalties in this case include two years probation, recruiting restrictions and the suspension of two athletic administrators.

This case was resolved through the summary disposition process, a cooperative effort where the involved parties submit the case to the Committee on Infractions in written form. When the NCAA enforcement staff, the university and involved individuals agree to the facts of the case and the university proposes penalties, they may use this process instead of having a formal hearing.

Between June 2007 and January 2009, two non-coaching football staff members placed numerous impermissible telephone calls and text messages to prospective student-athletes and/or their parents. These staff members were the former recruiting administrator and the former director of player personnel. These administrators’ primary responsibilities involved assisting with on-campus recruiting activities, which included preparation for and coordination of official and unofficial visits by prospective student-athletes. However, according to NCAA rules, as a non-coaching staff member, they could not make telephone calls to, receive telephone calls from or send text messages to prospective student-athletes or their parents for recruiting purposes. Twenty-eight of the text messages were sent prior to the August 1, 2007, ban on text messages, while the remaining were sent after this ban was in place.

In some instances, these telephone calls also resulted in the university exceeding its limits under NCAA rules for weekly calls. In addition, some recruits were contacted prior to their senior year of high school, which is not allowed under NCAA rules.

The penalties in this case are as follows:

• Public reprimand and censure.
• Two years of probation from February 11, 2010, through February 10, 2012 (Self-imposed by the university).
• Recruiting restrictions for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 academic years, as outlined in the public report (Self-imposed by the university).
• Two-week suspension for former recruiting administrator, as detailed in the public report.
• Two-week suspension for former director of player personnel, as detailed in the public report (Self-imposed by his current employing institution).

The members of the Committee on Infractions who reviewed this case include Paul Dee, lecturer in law and education at the University of Miami and formerly the institution's athletics director and general counsel. He is the chair of the Committee on Infractions. Other members are Dennis Thomas, the commissioner of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and formerly director of athletics at Hampton University; James O’Fallon, a law professor and faculty athletic representative for University of Oregon; and Eleanor Myers, faculty athletics representative and professor at Temple University.