NCAA Investigating UL-Lafayette

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NCAA investigating UL

Dan McDonald

dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

The University of Louisiana received notification Wednesday that the NCAA has begun an investigation into both the football and men's basketball programs.

The investigation involves eligibility of a student-athlete and prohibited out-of-season practice activities, according to a university statement released late Wednesday night. The statement specifically mentions football and men's basketball, but did not detail which sport was involved in which area of the investigation.

Athletic department spokesman Daryl Cetnar said the university received official word of the notice of inquiry Wednesday in the form of a letter to UL President Ray Authement.

"The NCAA has asked us not to comment further on this," Cetnar said.

Interim athletic director David Walker said in the university statement that he expects the NCAA to conduct and complete the investigation this month.

Walker, reached by phone Wednesday night, confirmed that the university had received a notice of inquiry but said he did not know the time frame of the investigation or what the next step in the process will be. Walker declined further comment.

Football coach Rickey Bustle and men's basketball coach Robert Lee did not return phone calls for comment Wednesday night.

The NCAA sends an institution a "notice of inquiry" when it has reasonable cause to believe the institution has violated NCAA rules. That determination is made after either correspondence with the institution or through in-person inquiries. NCAA Assistant Director of Enforcement Dan Matheson conducted a series of interviews in April on the UL campus.

Matheson did a second set of interviews in November with Authement, Lee and Bustle, along with other UL staff members.

The NCAA sends a notice of inquiry to an institution's chief executive officer if the enforcement staff finds evidence of violations in such interviews.

Normally, the notice indicates the nature of the potential violations including the involved sport, the approximate time period in which the alleged violations occurred, the identities of the involved individuals, the approximate time frame for the investigation and an indication that other facts may be uncovered during the course of the investigation that may relate to additional violations.

The NCAA does not publicly release the notice of inquiry and gives member institutions the discretion to release it themselves.

The investigation that follows the notice of inquiry, if it determines that major violations of NCAA legislation have occurred, could be followed by a notice of allegations that contain specific charges against the institution. The NCAA must either give the institution the notice of allegations or an update on the status of the investigation within six months after the date of the notice of inquiry.

The UL basketball program has been under scrutiny since last summer, when recruit Berry Jordan alleged that he received money and other benefits from the program, including campus housing when he was not a registered student.

Originally published March 9, 2006