A look at past NCAA violations at University of Miami

A history of major NCAA violations at the University of Miami before the Nevin Shapiro case:

FIRST CASE

Ruling date: Jan. 7, 1955

Sport involved: Football

Summary of violations: UM provided out-of-town players with round-trip transportation between the university and their homes at the beginning and conclusion of the academic year and during the December/January vacation period The school paid transportation costs of recruits to visit the campus from 1950 through 1954. UM’s coaching staff conducted try-outs for prospective football players including physical aptitude tests, agility drills and 50-yard dashes.

Summary of NCAA penalties: One-year probation (Oct. 20, 1954-Oct., 20, 1955) and no bowl game after the 1954 season. Under coach Andy Gustafson, UM finished 8-1 and ranked 11th in the Associated Press poll that season. It was noted in the report that UM’s CEO cooperated with the investigation.

SECOND CASE

Ruling date: Nov. 5, 1964

Sport involved: Men’s basketball

Summary of violations: A booster provided a player with free air transportation from Miami to his home around Christmas in 1963 In the summer of 1963, a booster provided a prospect with employment and allowed him to stay at his home for free. A UM representative provided that player with free air transportation from the employment site to UM so that he could enroll in the second term of summer school in 1963.

Summary of NCAA penalties: One-year probation (Nov. 4, 1964-Nov. 4, 1965). The team was prohibited from participating in post-season play following the 1964-65 season. UM finished that season 22-4 under coach Bruce Hale. It was Hall of Famer Rick Barry’s final season at UM and he led the nation in scoring at 37.4 points per game. The NCAA report noted that UM athletic administrators cooperated with the investigation.

THIRD CASE

Ruling date: Nov. 3, 1981

Sport involved: Football

Summary of violations: A booster gave cash to a player to reward him for his performance and also gave him money for a down payment for a car The UM staff conducted out-of-season practices, including one with a recruit There were 12 violations involving off-campus contact between the UM staff and recruits. There were multiple examples of boosters and assistant coaches hiring a recruit prior to the completion of his senior year of high school.

Boosters, assistant coaches and a former head coach provided recruits and their family members with food, drinks, tickets to pro games and a party on a yacht. A booster offered to pay airfare for parents and gave them spending cash An assistant allowed a recruit to borrow his car

Recruits were given free T-shirts, jerseys and equipment Free on-campus housing was given to two recruits for five-to-six week periods There were 17 incidents involving unauthorized transportation for recruits Other allegations included improper administration of financial aid. All violations took place from 1976-80.

Summary of NCAA penalties: Two years probation and no bowl game following the 1981 season. UM finished 9-2 and ranked 8th in the AP poll that season UM’s scholarships were cut from 30 to 20 for the 1982-83 season. An assistant coach was reprimanded for lying about a violation.

FOURTH CASE

Ruling date: Dec. 1, 1995

Sports involved: Football, women’s golf, baseball and tennis

Summary of violations: Lack of Institutional Control From 1990 to 1994, UM awarded more than $412,000 in excessive aid after improperly calculating off-campus room and board stipends for 141 football players and an undetermined number of baseball, women’s golf and men’s tennis players. From the fall of 1989 through the fall of 1993, student-athletes received an average of $110 in impermissible books each semester

Student-athletes were improperly compensated for employment From 1989 to 1991, an athletics department staff member helped approximately 60 to 77 student-athletes fraudulently receive a total of $212,969 in Pell Grants Football players were given cash awards for game performance between 1986 and 1992

During the 1993-94 and 1994-95 academic years, UM allowed three football players to compete without being subjected to the required disciplinary measures in the drug testing program An assistant director of academics in the athletics support services area was charged with unethical conduct.

Summary of NCAA penalties: For football, UM was given three years probation, a postseason ban for 1995 and public reprimand and censure. Also, the football program had a reduction in scholarships from 25 to 18 for 1995-96, from 25 to 12 for 1996-97 and from 25 to 14 for 1997-98

The baseball program was hit with a reduction of 6.12 equivalency awards over three years. The tennis program had a deduction of 1.98 equivalency awards over three years, and women’s golf had a reduction of 1.06 equivalency awards over three years UM was ordered to develop a comprehensive athletics compliance education program with annual reports during the period of probation Former athletic department staff members were hit with a seven-year “show cause” penalty, which complicates their ability to land another job in college sports.

FIFTH CASE

Ruling date: Feb. 27, 2003

Sport involved: Baseball

Summary of violations: From September 1998 through May 2001, an assistant coach co-owned and supervised a sports club/conditioning program and hosted recruits at the facility. Five of those recruits enrolled at UM. During UM’s probation from the 1995-96 through the 1997-98 academic years, the university failed to comply with NCAA imposed grant-in-aid penalties and awarded more financial aid than it was authorized to

An assistant coach violated NCAA standards of honesty by misreporting his outside income to the institution ($35,000-$37,000) From 1998-2000, the institution’s coaching staff permitted boosters to have impermissible recruiting contact with recruits and their parents, including one-to-two hour boat rides on Biscayne Bay.

Summary of NCAA penalties: Public reprimand and censure Two years of probation (Feb. 27, 2003-Feb. 26, 2005) Reduction of baseball equivalencies by 4.66 over three years (2003-04 through 2005-06).

Source: NCAA’s legislative data base.

This story was originally published October 23, 2013 at 12:00 AM.