A former Florida International University softball head coach committed recruiting violations when she had impermissible recruiting contacts with three prospects during the COVID-19 dead period, according to a decision released by a Division I Committee on Infractions panel. Because of her personal involvement in the violations, she violated head coach responsibility rules. She also violated ethical conduct rules when she instructed a student-athlete to provide false and misleading information and was not truthful when she was interviewed during the investigation.
In June, the school and women's soccer head coach reached an agreement with the enforcement staff about violations and penalties. The Division I Committee on Infractions publicly acknowledged the infractions case so the school and soccer coach could immediately begin serving penalties while awaiting the committee's final decision.
The violations occurred when the softball coach had two unplanned impermissible contacts with a recruit while both were on vacation in the same location. During the second meeting, the head coach and recruit took a picture together.
The head coach also arranged for two prospects to visit campus during the COVID-19 recruiting dead period. The coach arranged for one softball prospect to visit campus and receive a tour provided by a softball student-athlete, with the coach participating in an in-person conversation with that prospect. The coach also arranged for a second prospect to visit campus and receive a tour from the same softball student-athlete. The coach instructed the student-athlete to state that she was related to the prospect — which was not true — if anyone asked about that prospect's presence on campus. The coach later shared an off-campus meal with the second prospect.
The visits violated recruiting rules because of the COVID-19 dead period. Additionally, the tours constituted impermissible inducements because they were not generally available to other students during that time.
Because the head coach was personally involved in the violations, she violated head coach responsibility rules. Additionally, because she instructed the student-athlete to provide misleading information about her relation to the prospect, the head coach also violated ethical conduct rules.
Finally, during the investigation process, the head coach initially acknowledged the unplanned meeting with a prospect but denied knowledge of the subsequent arranged campus visits. Because she provided false or misleading information during the investigation, the head coach did not meet her responsibility to cooperate with the investigation and again violated ethical conduct rules.
The panel classified the case as Level I-aggravated for the head coach. In addition to the penalties agreed to by the school in June, the committee used the Division I membership-approved infractions penalty guidelines to prescribe a three-year show-cause order for the head coach, restricting all athletically related activities during the three-year period. If employed by an NCAA member school during that time, she will also be suspended for 50% of her first season.
Members of the Committee on Infractions are drawn from the NCAA membership and members of the public. The members of the panel who reviewed this case are Stephen Madva, attorney in private practice and chief hearing officer for the panel; Kendra Greene, senior woman administrator at North Carolina Central; Jeremy Jordan, dean of the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics at Syracuse; Jill Redmond, deputy commissioner of the Missouri Valley Conference; and Dave Roberts, special advisor to Southern California.
