ATU will vacate 205 games, titles
Arkansas Tech did not properly monitor the way in which prospective and current student- athletes obtained and paid for on- campus housing deposits over a four- year period which has resulted in a handful of selfand NCAA- imposed penalties, according to an NCAA Division II Committee on Infractions report released Thursday.
Arkansas Tech was given two years of probation by the NCAA on Thursday, will be forced to vacate all victories in which ineligible athletes competed in 2009- 2013, will be required to attend an NCAA rules seminar and must pay a $ 5,000 fine for paying for or waiving $ 14,250 worth of housing security deposits for athletes in five sports during that time.
Those penalties were added to self- imposed penalties by the school that included the loss of one- half of a scholarship for men’s basketball in 2015- 2016 and 20162017, the loss of 35 percent of one scholarship for women’s basketball in 2015- 2016 and
2016- 2017, the reduction of summer recruiting periods for men’s and women’s basketball, the loss of one official visit for men’s and women’s basketball for 2014- 2015, and the reduction of in- season countable athleticrelated activity for men’s and women’s basketball.
The school also will be forced to vacate victories from some of its most successful men’s and women’s basketball seasons. A total of 106 women’s basketball victories and 99 men’s basketball victories will be stripped and each team will vacate two division and two regular- season conference titles. The men’s basketball program also will vacate two conference tournament titles and the women will vacate one conference tournament title and two NCAA regional championships.
Arkansas Tech Athletic Director Steve Mullins, who was the football coach when two players had their deposits waived in 2011- 2012, declined comment through a university spokesman Thursday.
Arkansas Tech President Robin E. Bowen said in a university issued statement that the case has improved the school’s awareness of NCAA regulations.
“One of the lessons to be learned from this is that NCAA compliance is an issue that involves the entire campus community,” Bowen said. “While concurrently cooperating with and participating in the investigation of this case, we have invested time and resources the past year to strengthen our culture of NCAA compliance both inside and outside of our department of athletics.
“That process must be continual, and it will be as we look forward.”
A total of 53 prospective or current athletes from the baseball, football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and volleyball teams were involved in 57 violations, according to the report, most of which involved the men’s and women’s basketball teams.
The infractions were discovered in August 2012 when the women’s basketball program used camp funds to pay
for the housing security deposits — valued at $ 250 each — for four incoming players and two returning players, which caused the office of residential life to flag the payments as unusual, the report said.
That led to the school conducting an independent investigation that resulted in a report sent in August 2013 to the NCAA, which conducted its own investigation and submitted to the school a notice of allegations in September 2014.
Arkansas Tech acknowledged paying $ 1,500 and waiving $ 13,250 worth of housing deposits over the four- year period.
Of the 57 violations, 33 involved deposits for men’s basketball players being waived and 16 involved deposits for women’s basketball players being waived ( two women’s basketball players had their deposits paid for one year and were waived another).
Among the titles lost are the 2010 and 2011 Gulf South Conference Western Division titles for men’s and women’s basketball, the 2010 Gulf South Tournament titles for men’s and women’s basketball, the 2011 Gulf South Tournament title for women’s basketball and NCAA Regional championships for women’s basketball in 2010 and 2011.
Both programs will vacate Great American Conference regular- season titles in 2012 and 2013, while the men’s team will lose its 2012 GAC Tournament title and the women’s
team will vacate its 2013 GAC Tournament title.
Dave Wilbers, who is 191- 45 in eight seasons as the women’s basketball coach, did not return a message seeking comment Thursday.
University spokesman Sam Strasner said he wasn’t sure why the NCAA did not force Arkansas Tech to vacate victories in baseball, which had one athlete in 2010- 2011 receive a waiver, volleyball, which had one athlete receive a waiver in 2011- 2012, or football, which had the two athletes receive waivers in 2011- 2012.
Strasner said the school hasn’t yet decided if it will appeal the penalties. This is the first time Arkansas Tech has dealt with the Division II committee on infractions since moving to the NCAA in 1997.
Only one current athlete was affected, Strasner said, and that athlete has been reinstated without the loss of competition.
In addition to the self- imposed sanctions, Arkansas Tech voluntarily completed an NCAA compliance systems review during the 2014- 2015 academic year; increased compliance education provided to members of residential life, student accounts and budget departments; appointed a compliance committee in 2014 to work with student- athletes; educated housing staff on NCAA legislation and developed written policies within the housing department concerning waivers.