TCU put on probation by NCAA for Level II violations

TCU has been fined more than $47,000 and placed on probation for one year by the NCAA after it was ruled that more than 30 student-athletes were paid for work that wasn't actually performed.

A Division I Committee on Infractions decision that was released on Friday ruled that that 33 student-athletes at TCU, over a three-year stretch from 2015-2018, were paid work they did not perform while employed by institution's Physical Plant Summer Maintenance Program. Football and both men's and women's basketball were the three programs centered on the payments, per the report.

"Student-athletes from the football and men's and women's basketball programs received compensation beyond the hours they worked after they did not clock out after leaving the campus job site, according to the committee's decision," The committee said in its decision. "The excess payments totaled nearly $20,000 over four years and resulted in 22 of the 33 involved student-athletes competing while ineligible."

It is not known how the violations were discovered or whether or not the involved student-athletes have regained their eligibility.

In addition to the payments, violations were also committed within TCU's swimming and diving programs. Per the committee, "actions by a former head swimming and diving coach" -- Sam Busch -- resulted in the swimming and diving programs exceeding the maximum number of coaches permitted by the NCAA. It was also determined that the coach and his staff "directed or supervised student-athletes' participation in practice time that exceeded limits."

The committee concluded that the violations are of a "Level II" nature, meaning they did not involve "substantial impermissible benefit" or a "substantial recruiting, competitive or other advantages." The decision can be read in its entirety here.

The committee prescribed the following penalties and corrective measures.

- One year of probation.

- A $47,148 fine. This amount includes the self-imposed penalty of $19,796, plus an additional 10% of the value of the one unit the university received for participation in the first round of the 2018 Division I Men's Basketball Championship.

- A one-year show-cause order for the former coach. During that period, any NCAA member school employing him must show cause why he should not have restrictions on athletically related activity.

TCU chancellor Victor Boschini and athletic director Jeremiah Donati both expressed gratitude to the NCAA for its ruling in statements obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

"I'm proud of TCU's culture of compliance that led to these issues being identified, promptly disclosed, and corrected," Boschini told the Star-Telegram. "I also am thankful for our team who successfully collaborated to ensure that we not only resolved this issue but continue to send a message of strong ethical leadership at TCU."



Donati, in a separate statement, described the ruling as an "equitable result."


"We are thankful for the committee hearing our position and providing us an equitable result. The process worked."