UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO PUBLIC INFRACTIONS DECISION DECEMBER 15, 2017
I. INTRODUCTION The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions (COI) is an independent administrative body of the NCAA comprised of individuals from the Division I membership and the public. The COI decides infractions cases involving member institutions and their staffs. 1 This case involved the men's basketball program at the University of Northern Colorado and centered primarily on academic fraud and impermissible recruiting inducements.2 The violations spanned over four years and involved nine members of the men's basketball staff, including the former head men's basketball coach. Seven of those staff members are at risk for their participation in the violations. The violations in this academic fraud case strike at the heart of the Collegiate Model and were largely a product of the head coach's drive to succeed at any cost. As a first-time head coach in the spring of 2010, he placed tremendous pressure on himself and his staff to build on his predecessor's strong record. Thus, over the next four years, the head coach took shortcuts to success, putting his own self-interest and ambitions ahead of student-athlete welfare. He recruited talented but academically ineligible prospects and then violated foundational NCAA ethical conduct legislation to secure their eligibility. This included the head coach personally completing coursework for a prospect during the summer of 2010 and enlisting an athletic trainer to do the same. During the summer of 2012, the head coach directed his staff to do whatever was necessary to secure the eligibility of a second prospect, informing them that not getting the prospect was "not an option." As a result, three assistant coaches and a graduate assistant completed coursework for the prospect in three online courses. During the summer of 2014, another assistant coach arranged for and paid a friend to complete coursework for a third prospect. The actions of the head coach and his staff constituted academic fraud and resulted in the prospects competing while ineligible and receiving impermissible financial aid and travel expenses.3 These are Level I violations. Additionally, the head coach and two of his assistant coaches either paid or arranged payment for the prospects' online summer courses. These payments constituted impermissible recruiting 1
Infractions cases are decided by hearing panels comprised of COI members. Decisions issued by hearing panels are made on behalf of the COI. 2
With primary affiliation in the Big Sky Conference, Northern Colorado has an enrollment of 13,087 students. It sponsors 10 women's and nine men's sports. This is Northern Colorado's first major, Level I or Level II infractions case. 3
In 2014, the NCAA membership began using the phrase "academic misconduct" rather than "academic fraud." Although there are minor nuances between the two, for the sake of consistency the panel utilizes "academic fraud," the phrase that applied at the time the majority of the conduct in this case occurred.