WholeHogSports
NCAA alleges UA failed to monitor Gay prior to enrollment
Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007
URL: http://www.wholehogsports.com/nwat/49649/
In a notice of allegations to the University of Arkansas, the NCAA agrees with the University of Arkansas’ selfreport of NCAA rules violations associated with former Razorback men’s assistant track coach Lance Brauman with one major difference.
The NCAA, in its letter of allegations disclosed by the UA Tuesday, alleges that “ the scope and nature of the violations in Allegations Nos. 1 through 5 demonstrates an institutional failure to monitor a prospective student-athlete who lived in the institution’s locale prior to full-time enrollment. ”
Failure to monitor is not as serious a NCAA allegation as “ lack of institutional control” but is an allegation the UA in disputes nonetheless.
The student-athlete, whose name is blacked out for legal privacy reasons in the UA and NCAA correspondence, is former Razorback NCAA champion sprinter Tyson Gay. Brauman coached Gay at Barton County (Kan. ) Community College and Brauman recruited him to run for the Razorbacks in 2004 and 2005.
Brauman’s NCAA violations at Arkansas began coming to light in his trial and conviction of felony embezzlement and mail fraud charges from when he was the head men’s and women’s track coach at scan- dal-plagued Barton County Community College.
Eight with ties to BCC’s athletic department faced federal prosecution and charges.
Most accepted plea bargains. Brauman took his case to court and now is in a federal prison serving a sentence of a year and a day.
Arkansas head track John McDonnell, not named in any NCAA allegations, hired Brauman as a sprints coach in the fall of 2002. Brauman coached the indoor and outdoor track seasons at Arkansas from 2003-2006, resigning immediately as requested upon his conviction last July.
The UA, in its own investigation that the NCAA acknowledges, reported Brauman violated NCAA rules when he transported Gay from the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport to Fayetteville in July of 2003. The UA also reported that on five occasions, Kim Brauman, Lance Brauman’s wife, transported Gay to meet a prospective employer and to tour Fayetteville.
It was also reported by the UA that Brauman arranged for Gay to live cost-free with another student-athlete for three weeks before the 2003 fall semester began at a value of $ 135.
The UA report also disclosed Brauman facilitated Gay’s enrollment in a correspondence course, and for Brauman’s sister-in-law, Misty Harrison, to tutor Gay. The UA report maintains transportation was arranged for Gay to attend the tutoring sessions and that Gay was transported to Great Bend, Kan., to take a midterm, and that he took another test proctored by Misty Harrison at Springdale Southwest Junior High where Harrison then taught.
The UA maintains the correspondence course never was computed into Gay’s transcript and that he was in sufficient academic standing to compete as a track-eligible athlete in 2004 and 2005.
The UA acknowledges Brauman’s alleged transgressions and has self-imposed penalties effective immediately, but maintains the alleged transgressions occurred because of deception rather than lack of monitoring on the UA’s part.
The UA in correspondence to the NCAA contends that it had monitoring processes in place but that “ Brauman acted in a deliberate manner to circumvent legislation. ”
It is expected the UA will defend its position on monitoring when it comes before the NCAA Committee on Infractions June 8-9 in Portland, Ore.
The penalties UA imposed include the reduction of three scholarships, for 2006-2007 and 2007-2008, a significant cut since men’s track only has a maximum 12. 6 scholarships.
Aside from divvying just 9. 6 scholarships to field a team, the UA will not recruit junior college transfers to sign for the spring semester from the 2006-07 academic year through the 2008-09 academic year.
That’s also a significant penalty. Junior college transfers such as Godfrey Siamusiye, Melvin Lister, Jerome Romain, Brian Wellman, Josphat Boit and Gay have been major contributors among the unprecedented 42 national championships McDonnell’s men have won in indoor and outdoor track and cross country. Most junior college track transfers come at semester so they can immediately compete in indoor and outdoor track.
Arkansas also won’t hire any coach from a junior college to its men’s track staff from the 2006-07 academic year through 2008-09.
Arkansas will allow itself only one rather than two men’s track coaches on the recruiting road for a sixmonth period that began this January.
For the Committee of Infractions hearing June 8-9, the NCAA has requested the presence of UA Chancellor John White, Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles, McDonnell, director of track operations Danny Green, UA faculty representative Howard Brill, compliance director Marvin Caston, former compliance director Derrick Gragg and academic eligibility coordinator Beth Haj.
Presumably, there will be some special arrangements for McDonnell and Green. During the hearing in Portland, the Razorbacks will compete for the national championship at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, June 6-9 in Sacramento, Calif.