Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 11, 1993 TAG: 9302110121
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
UVA ADMITS 9 VIOLATIONS IN LOAN CASE
The University of Virginia has admitted it violated NCAA legislation in nine areas, according to documents made public Wednesday by the school.All of the allegations deal with events after May 1987, a period when only nine of 45 loans made to student-athletes by the Virginia Student Aid Foundation took place.
The school and ACC officials, after discussions with members of the NCAA Enforcement Staff, have held the position that a four-year statute of limitations applies to UVa's case.
An 11-member UVa delegation had a hearing Monday with the NCAA Committee on Infractions, which is expected to make a ruling in four to six weeks.
"The infractions committee did not have any findings at this time," athletic director Jim Copeland said Wednesday. "The procedure was, they went over the allegations and our response, and asked questions."
The infractions committee, composed of school administrators and faculty, is not to be confused with the enforcement staff, which investigated the case and made the allegations in an official inquiry received by UVa this past fall.
The school made its response to nine allegations in a 131-page report that was made available on request to the media.
The first of the allegations dealt with the loans, the most publicized item in the case. Virginia was asked to verify that nine no-interest loans, worth $3,058.65, were made to six student-athletes between Sept. 1, 1987, and Aug. 30, 1990.
The school said the information was "substantially correct" and admitted violating Article 16 of the NCAA Manual governing extra benefits.
Four of the allegations pertained to graduate assistant coaches. Virginia admitted there were times when graduate assistants received no-interest loans, were enrolled in insufficient credit hours and were overpaid because of calculation errors.
The only student-athlete mentioned by name was one-time Virginia punter Fred Carter, who in the fall of 1990 was on athletic scholarship while not enrolled as a full-time student. Carter, a former walk-on, was not a member of the team at the time.
Other allegations concerned the improper distribution and sale of promotional posters by an assistant coach, improper use of VSAF funds for recruiting and other purposes and, finally, a lack of institutional control.
"Adequate monitoring and educational programs were not in place and as a result, the improper loan program remained in effect," the report read.
"The athletics department utilized VSAF as an opportunity to achieve a quick and efficient solution to particular situations . . . with which VSAF had little relationship or responsibility."
UVa President John Casteen said April 23 that the loans represented "clear violations" of legislation. That's when the school officials sent the 529-page self-report to the NCAA and said the school was disassociating itself with Ted Davenport and Joe Mark, former executive directors of VSAF.
Jim West, an associate athletic director, announced his retirement the same day. According to Virginia's self-report, many of the loan recipients identified West as the official who sent them to VSAF.
In addition, Casteen sent a written reprimand to Gerry Capone, assistant director of football administration. The report characterized Capone as an intermediary for referring student-athletes to VSAF after receiving West's approval.
The NCAA's official inquiry asked for such information as the number of players on football scholarship and years of remaining eligibility, but otherwise included much duplication of the self-report in UVa's response.
"What was in the [official inquiry] and the official response was also contained in the self-report," Copeland said.
At the end of its response, Virginia presented its case for leniency, noting that "errors were errors of inadvertence or neglect" and maintaining that no competitive advantage had been gained.
The school also cited the corrective measures that have been taken, including the recent hiring of a full-time compliance officer, former UVa auditor Lynn Mitchell.