The University of Washington athletic department was formally charged with one of the most serious violations in collegiate sports -- a lack of institutional control -- in NCAA documents filed Monday and received by the UW Tuesday.
The lack of institutional control charge, as first reported by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Friday, stems from an NCAA investigation into gambling by university coaches and staff members on the annual college basketball tournament.
Additional charges detail alleged recruiting violations in the football program, claiming recruits had improper contact with a booster on boat trips during official recruiting visits.
The list of allegations from the National Collegiate Athletic Association was seen as partial victory yesterday for former football coach Rick Neuheisel, who is mentioned in only one paragraph of the eight-page document -- for participating in a college basketball "auction" in 2002 and 2003, winning US$4,799 the first year and US$6,420 the second year. There are no separate and individual charges regarding Neuheisel, and there is no mention of NCAA rule 10.1, the bylaw that would have sanctioned him for giving false or misleading information to NCAA investigators. Lying to the NCAA was cited by former athletic director Barbara Hedges as a reason she fired Neuheisel in June after it was revealed he had been involved in the auctions.
basketball pools
In the wake of that initial investigation, however, the NCAA noted investigators had uncovered other basketball pools conducted within the UW's football office, and that the participants included several assistant coaches and other staff members.
The list of charges indicates the pools were open to family members of department staff, and that "at least on one occasion, an assistant football coach's son participated in a pool at the time the young man was in high school."
The first allegation of a gambling infraction, in fact, centers on the basketball pools in the football office in 2000, 2001 and 2002, which were run by former graduate assistant football coach Ikaika Malloe, and included "several assistant football coaches and other football office staff members," the NCAA notice claims.
Other violations allegedly were committed by golf coach Matt Thurmond, who paid US$50 to participate in a professional basketball fantasy league last year; five trainers and an equipment manager, who participated in a betting pool outside the university; and a separate citation for former assistant director of compliance Dana Richardson for her involvement in a betting pool on the basketball tournament requiring a US$5 entry fee.
Richardson, who resigned her position earlier this month, also wrote two e-mail opinions about NCAA gambling rules that said it was permissible under NCAA rules to participate in betting pools outside of the athletic department and the UW. Those e-mails were found to be incorrect interpretations and are a large part of the reason the UW was found by the NCAA to have a lack of institutional control.
Instead of blaming individuals for the gambling infractions, the NCAA appears to directly hold the UW enforcement staff responsible.
"The NCAA clearly is not seeing this is a Rick Neuheisel issue," said Robert Sulkin, the attorney who has represented the former coach in lawsuits against both the UW and the NCAA. "Rick Neuheisel was not the only one who relied on the university's compliance officers to properly educate him concerning participation in March Madness pools. There were at least 14 people in the athletic department who were similarly disserved."
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