Gamecocks report 14 secondary violations

Six incidents are Level I and must be reported to NCAA
Seth Emerson
semerson@thestate.com

USC reported 14 NCAA secondary violations in the past six months, according to the school, including six that were considered Level I.

Secondary violations are defined by the NCAA as being “isolated” and “inadvertent.” They typically carry a minimal penalty or sometimes none at all. Level I infractions are sent to the NCAA for review, and Level II violations go to the SEC.

Two of the Level I violations were committed by the football program:

• On May 29, recruits viewed a display at the new training room that simulated the game-day entrance into Williams-Brice Stadium. It was determined afterward that the display, which includes “2001” on loudspeakers and a smoke machine, no longer should be included on recruiting tours.

“The important thing is that it wasn’t anything that the coaches themselves staged,” said Jennifer Stiles, USC’s assistant athletics director for compliance.

• On March 6, a football assistant coach sent a recruit a text message, which was banned two years ago by the NCAA. Stiles said the coach, who was not named, returned a text from a number he did not recognize, and ceased the exchange when he found out it was a recruit.

The men’s basketball program also was charged with a Level I violation for “impermissible entertainment” when the team went bowling. That act itself, which also included a recruit, is not banned, but Stiles said the NCAA permits such team-wide, off-court activities to be held at certain times.

Three other Level II violations were attributed to the men’s basketball program. One occurred when a recruit was interviewed by The State during an official visit.

Two of the other Level I violations included the track and field team, and the other was in men’s swimming.

The athletics department also reported seven positive marijuana tests out of 530 tests taken during the first six months of the year.

Reach Emerson at (803) 771-8676.

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University of South Carolina

Secondary Violation Reports Summary

January to June, 2009

NOTE: The NCAA has classified secondary violations as Level I or Level II. Under the secondary infractions reporting process effective August 1, 2004, all secondary violations are submitted to the conference office. Level II violations will be reviewed and processed by the conference office and the conference office will submit an annual report of Level II secondary violations to the NCAA enforcement staff at the conclusion of the academic year. All Level I violations are submitted to the NCAA enforcement staff for review and processing via the conference office. All eligibility restoration requests were granted.

January 9, 2009 Men’s Basketball prospective student-athlete was interviewed by the media during an official visit [NCAA bylaw 13.10.1] — Level II

January 12, 2009 Ineligible Football student-athlete was provided transportation to an away-from-home contest [NCAA bylaw 16.8.1.2] — Level II

January 12, 2009 Student-athlete practiced beyond the permissible 14-day period prior to being added to the squad list [NCAA bylaw 30.13] — Level II

January 29, 2009 Track coaches were present during voluntary athletically-related activities on one calendar day [NCAA bylaw 17.02.13] — Level I

January 30, 2009 Men’s Soccer student-athletes were provided an impermissible nutritional supplement [NCAA bylaw 16.5.2] — Level II

February 9, 2009 Student-Athletes were provided impermissible snacks during away-from-home contests [NCAA bylaw 16.5.2] — Level II

February 13, 2009 Men’s Basketball prospective student-athlete and current student-athletes were provided with impermissible entertainment during an official visit [NCAA bylaw 13.6.7.5] — Level I

March 5, 2009 Women’s Track coaching staff provided two prospective student-athletes with an official visit prior to receiving proper approval [NCAA bylaw 13.6.3] — Level I

March 6, 2009 Assistant Football coach sent an impermissible text message to a prospective student-athlete [NCAA bylaw 13.4.1.2] — Level I

March 24, 2009 Men’s Basketball complimentary admissions were not issued via the proper procedure [NCAA bylaw 16.2.1.2.1] — Level II

April 22, 2009 Impermissible complimentary admissions were provided to the Men’s Basketball NIT contest [NCAA bylaw 13.8.1] — Level II

May 25, 2009 Men’s Basketball prospective student-athletes were provided with impermissible hotel accommodations during an official visit [NCAA bylaw 13.6.6] — Level II

May 29, 2009 Football prospective student-athletes viewed a display which simulated a game day experience [NCAA bylaws 13.6.7.9 & 13.7.3] — Level I

June 10, 2009 Men’s Swimming student-athlete participated in competition prior to being certified as eligible [NCAA bylaw 14.3.1] — Level I