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."
football recruits
The basketball pools and the gambling issue, however, are not the only ones cited by the NCAA in making up the charge of lack of institutional control, which could bring major sanctions on the UW athletic program as well as the football program. The UW also was found to be in violation of bylaws for allowing "numerous" prospective football recruits to ride on two privately owned luxury boats during official paid visits without proper compensation.
The violation occurred "even though the institution received information and instructions from both the Pacific-10 Conference office and the NCAA national office as to the correct amount the young men were to be charged for this transportation," the NCAA complaint said.
That was the issue the NCAA first approached Neuheisel about before he was questioned about his betting on the college basketball tournament through the two high-stakes auctions over the past two years. Although he at first denied being involved, Neuheisel later that day came back to NCAA and Pac-10 investigators and told of his involvement in the alleged NCAA gambling infraction of bylaw 10.3, which prohibits gambling of any sort on college athletics.
The final part of the institutional control charge cites the athletic department for failing to "properly acknowledge and prevent the contacts" between prospective athletes and a booster during the boat trips.
In a letter to all of the people named in the document, David Price, NCAA enforcement director, said a hearing before the NCAA's committee on infractions will be held in Indianapolis June 11-13.
Written responses to the charges are due from the UW by April 26.
The school also is braced for another potential NCAA investigation in response to state charges facing former softball team doctor William Scheyer, whose license to practice medicine was suspended by the Department of Health for allegedly administering large doses of prescription drugs to members of the softball team without proper medical examinations.
Acting UW athletic director Richard Thompson yesterday said the athletic department would contest the charge of lack of institutional control, which is similar to a Pac-10 charge that the UW failed to properly monitor its staff and coaches regarding NCAA gambling bylaws.
A statement issued by the university yesterday read: "With regard to the facts of the case, there are no new elements beyond what has been reported in the Pac-10 case."
But more new elements could surface because the university will be required to furnish volumes of additional information. The NCAA has asked for copies of all correspondence between the UW compliance office, its outgoing faculty representative, Rob Aronson, the Pac-10 and the NCAA regarding the use of the boats.
It also wants to know more about the booster, Chuck Richmond, and his relationship to members of the UW football staff.
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