Tech reports four secondary violations to NCAA

Georgia Tech self-reported four secondary violations to the ACC or NCAA during the first six months of 2009.

Three of the violations occurred this year, and one occurred in September and was reported in January.

One incident involved the men’s basketball team, one men’s track and field, one women’s tennis and one involved baseball, men’s tennis and men’s track and field.

In each case, Tech took steps to educate the people involved on the rules, and the ACC and NCAA let Tech’s self-imposed penalties stand, according to Paul Parker, assistant athletics director for compliance.

The NCAA defines secondary violations as inadvertent or isolated incidents that don’t produce a significant recruiting or competitive advantage.

“Obviously, it would be everyone’s goal to eliminate all NCAA violations, but the reality is that the complexity of the operating code makes it extremely difficult,” associate athletics director Wayne Hogan said. “We believe our process for educating and monitoring our coaches, staff and student-athletes works well. The fact that we have a certain number of these secondary reports shows the system is sound and that we are proactive in addressing these issues, and working to correct them going forward.”

Georgia Tech wouldn’t divulge the names of the players involved in documents given to the AJC, citing federal privacy laws.

Recapping the violations:

• The mother of a basketball recruit made 16 phone calls from a hotel while her son was on an official visit. The bill was forwarded to the athletics department and paid for, without knowing the phone calls had been made. The athlete was ruled ineligible until Tech was reimbursed for the phone bill.

• A men’s track and field athlete, previously reported to be Jerome Miller, competed in four meets during the 2009 indoor track season. A review later found that Miller had used up his eligibility for the indoor season. Also, Tech forfeited any points won by Miller and fined itself $500 for each meet in which Miller competed ($2,000).

• A student assistant mailed to local high schools fliers and letters promoting Tech’s women’s tennis team’s matches.

• Athletes in men’s tennis, baseball and men’s track and field were given grants-in-aid for less than the one-year period required by the NCAA.

In each case, Tech wrote a letter, or letters, of admonishment and conducted a rules workshop.