NCAA puts West Georgia on probation; school says it cooperated

The NCAA said the school was guilty of  multiple major infractions, including "lack of institutional control."  Specifically, the NCAA said West Georgia didn't have any compliance system set up to oversee the eligibility of its athletes. The investigation determined that West Georgia used 119 ineligible athletes from 2004-09.

"We have cooperated fully and extensively with the investigation,"  Dickey, who was not athletics director at the time of the violations, told the AJC Friday.

Dickey became athletics director a year ago, and was promoted to the permanent job in September. He took over for the retired Ed Murphy, whom the NCAA specifically cited as being uncooperative in its investigation.

"We are glad that is coming to a conclusion," said Dickey, who is also the school's head football coach. "We are excited about opportunities that we have at this university. We will work diligently to ensure that compliance with the NCAA is taken to its fullest."

The names of the 119  ineligible athletes were not publicly released. The NCAA, which is the governing body of  college sports programs nationwide, said any records set by the ineligible athletes would be erased.

The athletes were ineligible for a variety of reasons, according to the NCAA, including “failing to receive final eligibility certification, failure to satisfy transfer requirements, lack of amateurism certification.” Some also did not have the required minimum grades, were not taking at least 12 hours a week in classes or  were not making progress toward earning a degree.

The NCAA said West Georgia did not monitor student-athletes to ensure they were eligible nor did the school notify those they determined ineligible by July 1 that their athletics scholarships would not be renewed for the next school term.

“This led to findings of a lack of institutional control, the university’s failure to monitor and unethical conduct by the former head women’s volleyball coach and the former director of athletics,” the NCAA said.

The school’s punishment also includes fewer scholarship, recruiting restrictions and a $2,500 fine. The school will be on probation until Jan. 20, 2014.

At the same time, former head volleyball coach Regan Adams and former athletics director Murphy were given two-year show-cause penalties, which put limits on their employment in college athletics.

Adams, who left the school in December of 2007, used banked airline miles to get a round-trip airline ticket so a prospect could travel to Carrollton from her home country in the summer of 2006. Adams also gave that prospect " impermissible benefits, including a $100 gift card and $630 money order” to cover the cost of registering for two on-line classes in 2007 so the student-athlete could remain eligible, the NCAA said.

Murphy, who retired as AD early in 2009, was punished because he refused to cooperate with investigators, the NCAA said.

“As the scope of the violations was becoming evident, the NCAA enforcement staff attempted on five occasions to contact him for an interview, but he refused to respond to the staff or cooperate with the investigation,” the NCAA said.

Murphy told the Carrollton Times-Georgian  he had reported the volleyball coach's violation before he retired. But, Murphy told the Carrollton newspaper, the investigator who subsequently contacted him seemed focused on student-athletes on academic probation.

Murphy said it was common for athletes on academic probation to continue playing their sports.

"We’ve done it forever," Murphy told the Times-Georgia. "And all the schools that I’ve been to did it. ... It’s very common practice."

Murphy said, according to the newspaper, the university's handbook was unclear on whether a student on academic probation could participate in sports.

But when the NCAA  issued its decision, Murphy said. "then it became obvious that ... we’ve had ineligible players on every team we’ve ever had.”