UConn athletic department self-reported 15 minor NCAA violations during 2021

Storrs — UConn's athletic department self-reported 15 minor NCAA violations in 2021, including a women's basketball player accepting cash from fans.

The violations were first reported Tuesday by Hearst Connecticut Media, which obtained details of them through a Freedom of Information Act request.

They included four violations by the women's basketball program, three by the football program, and one each in men's soccer, baseball, softball, field hockey and women's tennis. The athletic training department and the compliance department also were cited.

All 15 violations were considered to be Level III “breach of conduct” violations by the university, the least serious category of NCAA violation.

They included a women's basketball player accepting $40 from fans via CashApp for her birthday. The self-imposed penalty had the player, whose identity was withheld, declared ineligible until she paid the $40 to the a charity.

Other violations ranged from players participating in off-season sanctioned leagues before receiving written consent to the department improperly tagging a recruit in a Tweet. The department also failed to list a student-athlete's name to the transfer portal within two business days of student requesting a transfer.

Penalties most often included education for those involved and athletes being ruled ineligible until the violation was was rectified.

UConn said the discovery of the violations showed a “robust monitoring effort” by the school.

“UConn athletics endeavors to promote an atmosphere of compliance and, while educational efforts are ongoing, it is critical that everyone in the division feels comfortable reporting violations when mistakes are made,” the school said in a statement.