Download the August 2021 University of Akron Public Infractions Decision
A former associate athletics director at Akron provided impermissible benefits to nine football student-athletes when he provided cash loans from his personal bank account, according to a decision released by the Division I Committee on Infractions. As a result, the former associate athletics director violated ethical conduct rules.
Specifically, in January 2015, the former associate athletics director provided cash loans from his personal bank account after he learned from the director of football operations that two student-athletes had not yet received their scholarships from the university. The former associate athletics director contacted the university bursar's office to obtain cash advances on their financial aid and was informed that Akron did not have a cash advance program and the bursar's office was unwilling to expedite the funds, at which point he provided the loans. Upon giving these loans, the former associate athletics director had the student-athletes sign repayment agreements that were drafted on university letterhead.
Later, during the 2019-20 academic year, the associate athletics director provided additional cash advances to an additional seven football student-athletes. Two student-athletes received the loans in August 2019, and another five received the loans in January 2020. Once again, the associate athletics director had the student-athletes sign repayment agreements. All nine loans amounted to $5,900 in total.
As a result of the loans, the Committee on Infractions found that four student-athletes competed in 21 games and received actual and necessary expenses while ineligible.
The committee also determined that the former associate athletics director, who was the highest-ranking compliance administrator at the time, violated NCAA ethical conduct rules due to his involvement in the extra benefits violations, because he should have known the benefits he provided were impermissible.
"Extra benefits legislation is well-known to the membership — particularly compliance directors," the committee said in its decision. "The [former associate athletics director] should have known that cash loans constituted impermissible benefits or, at the very least, sought guidance when he learned that Akron did not have a cash advance program."
The committee classified the case as Level I-mitigated for the school and Level I-standard for the former associate athletics director. The committee used the Division I membership-approved infractions penalty guidelines to prescribe the following measures:
- Two years of probation.
- A $5,000 fine.
- A two-year show-cause order for the former associate athletics director. During that period, he must attend NCAA Regional Rules Seminars, and any NCAA member school employing him must restrict his involvement with NCAA financial aid legislation by requiring direct oversight from the athletic department's senior leadership on financial aid-related responsibilities.
- A vacation of all records in which student-athletes competed while ineligible. The university must provide a written report containing the contests impacted to the NCAA media coordination and statistics staff within 14 days of the public release of the decision.
- A comprehensive compliance review of Akron's athletics department by an outside agency with athletics compliance expertise.
Members of the Committee on Infractions are drawn from NCAA member schools and conferences and members of the public. The committee members who reviewed this case are Norman Bay, attorney in private practice; Greg Christopher, chief hearing officer for the panel and athletics director at Xavier; Bobby Cremins, former men's basketball head coach at Appalachian State, Georgia Tech and the College of Charleston; Rich Ensor, commissioner of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference; Jason Leonard, executive director of athletics compliance at Oklahoma; Kay Norton, president emeritus at Northern Colorado; and Joe Novak, former football head coach at Northern Illinois.
