Tech self-reports 10 violations in ‘09-'10
Georgia Tech's violations for the 2009-10 year were comparable in scale to Georgia's.
The school turned itself in for 10 secondary violations, five by the men's basketball team.
Three of those violations broke rules about tickets left by players for guests. Once, a player left more than the maximum of four under his name. Two weeks later, a player -- the report doesn't specify if it was the same player -- had the team's director of operations give out three more under his name to guests of the player.
Later in the season, the player's mother called an assistant coach and had him leave her a ticket because her son already had met his four-ticket allotment.
In each instance, the staff member was given a letter of admonishment and rules education. The player also was given rules education and required to make a charitable donation equal to the price of the tickets.
In another violations,
- Coach Paul Hewitt was interviewed on ESPNU during an AAU game along with 35 other coaches, violating the NCAA's rule that a college coach can't participate in a broadcast in which a prospective recruit is playing. He and his staff received rules education.
- Two women's basketball coaches called the same recruit on the same day, exceeding the general rule of one call per week. A third coach who sent out the schedule for calling recruits was given a letter of admonishment. The staff couldn't call recruits for two weeks and was given rules education.
- A men's swim coach returned a phone call from a recruit setting up an unofficial visit, which was a second phone call within a week. A coach may make unlimited phone calls in the five days before an official visit, but not an unofficial one. The coach was given a letter of admonishment and rules education. The staff could not make calls to recruits for two weeks.
- A women's tennis coach paid for meals for his team during a recruit's official visit. A coach may buy team members meals on "infrequent" and "special" occasions, but it can't coincide with a meal during a recruit's official visit. The team members made a charitable donation equal to the value of the meal, the coach received a letter of admonishment and the compliance staff reviewed meal and official visit rules with the entire Tech coaching staff.
- A men's swim coach called a recruit who left a message in response to a scholarship offer. It was the second call in the week. The coach received a letter of reprimand and was given rules education. The coaching staff could not call recruits for one week.
- A men's basketball walk-on practiced ineligibly because his tuition check bounced and he was temporarily dropped from school. The bursar's office received rules education, and the walk-on was withheld from two practices.
- A women's tennis coach mistakenly scheduled a recruit's official visit during a recruiting "dead" period. The coach and compliance staff both met with athletics director Dan Radakovich. The coach received rules education, and the team had its number of "permissible in-person contact opportunities" reduced by one.
About the Author
Ken Sugiura is a sports columnist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Formerly the Georgia Tech beat reporter, Sugiura started at the AJC in 1998 and has covered a variety of beats, mostly within sports.
More Stories
The Latest
