The University of New Mexico today announced it has received formal notification from the National Collegiate Athletic Association of four potential violations of NCAA rules involving members of the school’s football coaching staff during the spring semester of 2004 and the fall semester of 2005.
No current football student-athletes are involved in the allegations. Additionally, the NCAA did not allege that the University, at any time, failed to exercise institutional control over the program and no allegations were directed at the head football coach.
The Notice of Allegations, issued by the NCAA, involved three members of the football coaching staff, two who are no longer employed at the University. They are alleged to have aided four prospective student-athletes and one then current student-athlete to enroll in and improperly obtain course credit from another four-year institution. Only two of the five student-athletes ever competed at UNM.
“We have exerted every effort to work with the NCAA to investigate these allegations,” said Vice-President for Athletics Paul Krebs, who noted that the University was first made aware of the alleged incidents just one month after he assumed his position in June of 2006. “We immediately established an internal task force to work closely with the NCAA to ensure they received everything they requested.
“We will not tolerate intentional violations of NCAA rules. There is nothing more important to the health and well-being of an athletics department than integrity. Since I took this position, we have focused significant time and energy on expanding and improving our compliance and academic services, including personnel, budget and professional development and strengthening our commitment to the academic mission for all student-athletes.”
The University plans to respond to the allegations to the NCAA in writing by December 7. The next stage of the process will be a hearing in front of the NCAA Infractions Committee in the spring of 2008.
The University has retained outside counsel to assist in the investigation and, if deemed appropriate, it will consider self-imposed penalties against the football program.
Krebs cited newly appointed University President David Schmidly’s new initiatives to tighten academic oversight over athletics. Earlier this year, President Schmidly made student-athletes’ academic advisors directly responsible to the University’s chief academic officer, the Provost, and made the NCAA Compliance Officer directly answerable to the President.
“Once we know all the facts,” President Schmidly promised, “we will take whatever additional steps are called for to ensure that this University sets the highest standard for compliance. At the University of New Mexico, our first priority for student-athletes must always be academics, first and foremost – and the most important lesson we have to teach is honest fair play.”
Media Contact: Greg Remington, (505) 710-7911; e-mail: gregrem@unm.edu