Former Notre Dame student trainer acted unethically, committed academic misconduct

[pmemorial]

A former University of Notre Dame student athletic trainer violated NCAA ethical conduct rules when she committed academic misconduct for two football student-athletes and provided six other football student-athletes with impermissible academic extra benefits, according to a Division I Committee on Infractions panel. One additional football student-athlete committed academic misconduct on his own.

The panel prescribed one year of probation, a two-year show-cause order and disassociation for the former student trainer, and a $5,000 fine for the university. During that time, if a member school hires the former student trainer in an athletically related position, she and the school must appear before a Committee on Infractions panel.

This case was resolved through the summary disposition process, a cooperative effort during which the involved parties collectively submit the case to the Committee on Infractions in written form. The NCAA enforcement staff, university and involved individuals must agree to the facts and overall level of the case to use this process instead of a formal hearing. The panel reviewing the case held an expedited penalty hearing because the university did not agree with one of the penalties.

During two academic years, the former student trainer and two football student-athletes engaged in academic misconduct when the former student trainer completed coursework for the student-athletes. These student-athletes, in addition to a third football student-athlete, also committed academic misconduct individually. The university determined the three student-athletes violated its academic integrity policies. The misconduct resulted in the student-athletes playing while ineligible — one student-athlete during the 2012-13 season and the other two student-athletes during the 2013-14 season.

The former student trainer also provided impermissible academic assistance to six additional football student-athletes in a total of 18 classes. She provided the assistance while she attended the university and a year after she graduated. Two of the student-athletes violated the university’s academic integrity policies. The remaining four student-athletes were not enrolled at the time the violations were discovered, so they were not subject to the university’s policies.

The panel found the former student trainer violated NCAA ethical conduct rules when she committed academic misconduct and provided the impermissible academic extra benefits. She signed documents outlining that she should not complete academic work for student-athletes, but the panel noted she provided the assistance and did not ask the university’s compliance representatives if her actions would violate university and NCAA rules.

Penalties prescribed by the panel include the following:

• Public reprimand and censure for the university.
• One year of probation from Nov. 22, 2016, through Nov. 21, 2017.
• A two-year show-cause order for the former student trainer from Nov. 22, 2016, through Nov. 21, 2018. During that time, any NCAA member school that hires her in an athletically related position must appear with her before a Committee on Infractions panel.
• A disassociation of the former student trainer from the university’s athletics program from Nov. 22, 2016, through Nov. 21, 2018. During this period, the university may not accept assistance in the recruitment of prospects or support of student-athletes from the former student trainer; may not accept donations to the athletics program from the former student trainer; may not extend athletics benefits or privilege to the former student trainer that is not generally available to the public; and must ensure the former student trainer is not involved in the university’s athletics program.
• A vacation of all records in which student-athletes participated while ineligible during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 football seasons.
• A $5,000 fine.

Members of the Committee on Infractions are drawn from NCAA membership and members of the public. The members of the panel who reviewed this case are Gregory Christopher, athletics director at Xavier University; Thomas Hill, senior policy advisor to the president of Iowa State University; Gregory Sankey, chief hearing officer for this panel, chair of the Committee on Infractions and commissioner for the Southeastern Conference; Larry Parkinson, director of enforcement for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; and Sankar Suryanarayan, university counsel, Princeton University.

Media Contact

 

[NDSMC78]

Seems pretty heavy handed to me.

 

[pmemorial]

Seems pretty heavy handed to me.

NCAA PIR
http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/2016INF_PublicInfractionsDecisionNotreDame_20161122.pdf

 

[Ara64]

I guess sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut and handle the matter in house. They turned a half suspension into a major case and we get slammed hard. Coach Kelly even said they aren't considered violations today by the NCAA.

 

[NDSMC78]

I guess sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut and handle the matter in house. They turned a half suspension into a major case and we get slammed hard. Coach Kelly even said they aren't considered violations today by the NCAA.

I agree. It's really ridiculous. We self report and conduct our own investigation. Then, after trying to do things the right way, we get nailed. Real BS.

 

[Kelso86]

So, this is probably the incident from back in 2014 when the 6 players were abruptly yanked from the team during fall camp.

 

[AdvanSix]

amazing. Meanwhile Rick Pitino and Louisville do not self-report the literal running of a brothel in an on-campus student dormitory and the NCAA hasn't vacated their 2013 regular season or National Championship? This is absolutely ridiculous.

 

[Bur-Heel]

Love ND football..and UNC basketball..can't believe I'm going through this mess again!!

 

[perseverare]

'12&'13 W's will be vacated.

 

[perseverare]

the solution to these incidents is to do what the ACC and SEC do and not have players go to classes!
then they don't need 'help'

 

[Telx1]

Nothing wrong with harsh penalties as long as they are uniformly applied, which of course they are not. Feels like one hell of a f... Y... directed at a University that the committee dislikes for whatever reason. Never been into the conspiracy theories, but this sure has a bad feel and ugly smell.

That said, I wonder if the NCAA just handed ND the opportunity to fire Kelly without having to pay the five years left on his contract?

 

[brian822]

lol they can't even cheat right.

 

[polecat]

This is what you get when the NCAA is run by an $EC guy.

 

[john0gaunt]

That said, I wonder if the NCAA just handed ND the opportunity to fire Kelly without having to pay the five years left on his contract?

It's getting more difficult to find a reason to keep Kelly. The question is before or after the game in LA? There are good arguments for doing it before.

 

[TheGLOV]

 

[twalsh]

Nothing wrong with harsh penalties as long as they are uniformly applied, which of course they are not. Feels like one hell of a f... Y... directed at a University that the committee dislikes for whatever reason. Never been into the conspiracy theories, but this sure has a bad feel and ugly smell.

That said, I wonder if the NCAA just handed ND the opportunity to fire Kelly without having to pay the five years left on his contract?

If ND thought Kelly had any culpability in the frozen five episode he would have been fired before the 2015 season. I don't think this will change anything, it's not like any of this is new news to the people at ND.

 

[Kelso86]

Nothing wrong with harsh penalties as long as they are uniformly applied, which of course they are not. Feels like one hell of a f... Y... directed at a University that the committee dislikes for whatever reason. Never been into the conspiracy theories, but this sure has a bad feel and ugly smell.

That said, I wonder if the NCAA just handed ND the opportunity to fire Kelly without having to pay the five years left on his contract?

Since this is basically old news (just the infractions piece is new) -- I guess -- how would Kelly and staff had known this was going on when it occurred? Yes, it is under his watch -- sorry, just venting a bit.

 

[john0gaunt]

A 10 win coach could survive this. A 4 win coach? Not so much.

 

[HDK]

Notre Dame should quit the NCAA and form a new athletic conference with like minded schools because this is a ridiculous punishment for something that was investigated properly and dealt with properly.

 

[mvhomerj]

What's Kelly's overall ND record now?

 

[ivan brunetti]

What's Kelly's overall ND record now?

38-30 at ND. .559 win %.

 

[Telx1]

If ND thought Kelly had any culpability in the frozen five episode he would have been fired before the 2015 season. I don't think this will change anything, it's not like any of this is new news to the people at ND.

Yes, you're right...nothing new here, except the punishment. None of us knows what Kelly's contract says, but it would be surprising if there isn't some standard articulated that suggests the contract can be vacated without cost if the program receives a major infraction from the NCAA on his watch.

 

[mbd11]

That's a ridiculously heavy punishment, considering "writing papers for players" probably goes on all the time at places like SEC schools but nobody finds out about it. Not to mention we already self-punished when we suspended those 5 players for the 2014 season.

Hopefully the appeal will succeed, like it has at some other schools.

 

[perseverare]

the appeal will likely succeed; the NCAA knows that but like a headline the damage is done with the printing!

 

[hpnole]

Love ND football..and UNC basketball..can't believe I'm going through this mess again!!

since you mentioned UNC, what are they going to get for cheating for 18 years with a whole dept. that primarily kept athletes eligible? My guess, nothing.

 

[VTND]

The kids that cheated are mostly gone. So why punish kids that had nothing to do with it and why did it take so long to come to the verdict.

 

[iwish]

It's getting more difficult to find a reason to keep Kelly. The question is before or after the game in LA? There are good arguments for doing it before.

Huh? Pretty thin to try to pin this on BK. Read the facts again.

 

[twalsh]

The kids that cheated are mostly gone. So why punish kids that had nothing to do with it and why did it take so long to come to the verdict.

We are 15 months from when this became public. That's actually pretty fast for the NCAA. Probably because we gave them 100% cooperation.

 

[ndhell]

"ND Football" that's all you have to say to get a laugh.

 

[perseverare]

^ becoming that way!

 

[SALittleGiant513]

The kids that cheated are mostly gone. So why punish kids that had nothing to do with it and why did it take so long to come to the verdict.

How are the kids who are currently on the team affected?

 

[hvillebill]

"ND Football" that's all you have to say to get a laugh.

Notre Dame has and always will be a target by others, regardless of its situation.

 

[aoi_toku]

I agree. It's really ridiculous. We self report and conduct our own investigation. Then, after trying to do things the right way, we get nailed. Real BS.

If you did things "the right way" you wouldn't find yourselves in the middle of this shit storm to begin with.

 

[FSUTribe76]

I agree. It's really ridiculous. We self report and conduct our own investigation. Then, after trying to do things the right way, we get nailed. Real BS.

Ha! Now you know how FSU felt being drug through the mud because some assistant TA gave out answers to half the class in an online music class. We lost years of wins (and wins that mattered as it put Pedo Paterno over Bobby) over literally the same thing. We self reported and suspended players as soon as the TA was found out as well, so other than the numbers (it was 70 students total and about a dozen football players) it's literally exactly the same thing.

So two things, 1) This is Karma paying back Epissitis/all of his other names for continuing to ring that up and 2) never self-report. Do what the SEC and Big Ten do, deny, deny, deny and coverup. Heck Pedo State got less for covering up child rape than FSU did for a %*%*%* TA helping people cheat on online tests.

 

[twalsh]

If you did things "the right way" you wouldn't find yourselves in the middle of this shit storm to begin with.

Clearly you don't know this story.

 

[Nocalirish]

More reasons to fire Jack and Kelly after next weeks blowout loss.

 

[NDSMC78]

If you did things "the right way" you wouldn't find yourselves in the middle of this shit storm to begin with.

Yes, ND did things the right way, and does things the right way. We were advised of a problem, self reported and then conducted our own investigation. The "shit storm" as you refer to it, was known about for the past year and a half. Have you not been paying attention?

 

[NDSMC78]

More reasons to fire Jack and Kelly after next weeks blowout loss.

Wrong as usual. Saying something a thousand times doesn't make it true, you know.

 

[NDSMC78]

Ha! Now you know how FSU felt being drug through the mud because some assistant TA gave out answers to half the class in an online music class. We lost years of wins (and wins that mattered as it put Pedo Paterno over Bobby) over literally the same thing. We self reported and suspended players as soon as the TA was found out as well, so other than the numbers (it was 70 students total and about a dozen football players) it's literally exactly the same thing.

So two things, 1) This is Karma paying back Epissitis/all of his other names for continuing to ring that up and 2) never self-report. Do what the SEC and Big Ten do, deny, deny, deny and coverup. Heck Pedo State got less for covering up child rape than FSU did for a %*%*%* TA helping people cheat on online tests.

Sorry, I do not agree with the idea of deny, deny, deny. When I was growing up, my folks told me that two wrongs don't make a right. That holds true here also.

As for argusman, in his own name and all of his aliases, please tell me you do not really believe he is a Notre Dame fan. He is a psychopathic lunatic who besmirches Notre Dame's reputation on a daily basis. The man is sick.

 

[perseverare]

geez! is there ever 'good news' associated with ND football? this has been a long road