UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN, SUPERIOR PUBLIC INFRACTIONS DECISION JUNE 26, 2014

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1 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN, SUPERIOR PUBLIC INFRACTIONS DECISION JUNE 26, 2014 I. INTRODUCTION The NCAA Division III Committee on Infractions is an independent administrative body of the NCAA comprised of individuals from the Division III membership and the public. The committee is charged with deciding infractions cases involving member institutions and their staff. This case involves the University of Wisconsin, Superior. 1 The committee considers this case through the summary disposition process, a cooperative effort in which all parties agree to the primary facts and violations as fully set forth in the submitted Summary Disposition Report (SDR). Further, the institution agrees to the penalties; therefore, there is no appeal option. The institution and the enforcement staff are the only parties in this case. As detailed in the SDR, the institution considered athletics criteria when it awarded 196 scholarships worth $393,575 to 110 student-athletes in the academic years through The institution could not quantify how much of the aid the studentathletes received could be attributable to athletics involvement. The scholarship application form used for both incoming and continuing students invited them to state the reasons why they deserved scholarship consideration, resulting in many student-athletes listing their athletics involvement as examples of leadership and achievement that qualified them for aid. The parties further agreed that the institution failed to monitor and educate personnel involved in the administration of the scholarships. That failure resulted in the violations described above and additional separate violations when the institution designated a scholarship for a former men's ice hockey student-athlete and allowed a member of the athletics staff to be involved in the determination of the recipient of the award. The parties contended, and the committee concludes, that the additional violation was secondary. After reviewing the parties' principal factual agreements and respective explanations surrounding those agreements, the committee accepts the parties' SDR and concludes that those agreements constitute major and secondary violations of NCAA bylaws. The committee concludes that the following principal penalties and corrective actions are appropriate: two years of probation, attendance by various campus personnel at NCAA 1 A member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletics Conference, the institution has an enrollment of approximately 2,700 students. It sponsors six men's and seven women's intercollegiate sports. This was the institution's first major infractions case.

2 Page No. 2 Regional Rules Seminars and a Level II financial aid review. The committee also prescribed other penalties as detailed in the penalty section of this decision. II. CASE HISTORY On March 16, 2012, the NCAA Division III Financial Aid Committee informed the institution by letter that it was in violation of financial aid bylaws. At the same time, the Financial Aid Committee referred the case to the NCAA enforcement staff. On June 4, 2012, the enforcement staff contacted the director of athletics to request information in addition to the financial aid reporting and the Financial Aid Committee's review of information previously submitted. The institution provided the requested additional information on July 2 and November 1, The enforcement staff issued a notice of inquiry letter to the institution on January 31, 2013, and submitted proposed findings to the institution on October 2, After the parties agreed to some changes in the proposed findings, they reached a final agreement on November 25, The parties submitted the SDR to the committee on March 26, The committee reviewed the SDR on April 17, 2014, and, pursuant to NCAA Bylaw , sent a request for further information to the parties the following day. The parties provided the information in a letter dated May 2. On May 9, the committee reconvened and determined that, pursuant to NCAA Bylaw , further penalties were warranted beyond those proposed by the institution. The committee proposed the further penalties to the institution in a letter on May 12. The institution informed the committee that it accepted the additional penalties in an communication dated May 23, III. PARTIES' AGREEMENTS A. PARTIES' AGREED-UPON FACTUAL BASIS, VIOLATIONS AND VIOLATION LEVELS OF NCAA LEGISLATION The parties jointly submitted a SDR that identifies an agreed-upon factual basis and violations of NCAA legislation. The SDR identifies: 1. [NCAA Division III Manual Bylaw (a) ( through )] The institution and the enforcement staff agree that from at least the through the academic years, the institution allowed for the

3 Page No. 3 consideration of athletics leadership participation or performance as a criterion in the formulation of the awarding of University of Wisconsin- Superior Foundation, Inc. (Foundation) scholarships. Specifically, it was determined that 196 Foundation scholarships were awarded to 110 student-athletes from the through the academic years with a total of value of $393,575. The Foundation scholarship application form was used for both incoming and continuing students and allowed for the consideration of athletics participation in determining the award. Specifically, 196 Foundation scholarships were awarded to 110 studentathletes from the through the academic years with a total of value of $393,575. The Foundation scholarship application form was used for both incoming and continuing students and allowed for the consideration of athletics participation in determining the award. [footnote omitted] 2. [NCAA Division III Manual Constitution ( through )] The institution and the enforcement staff agree that from at least the through the academic years, the institution failed to adequately monitor and educate personnel involved in creating and administering the University of Wisconsin-Superior Foundation, Inc. (Foundation) scholarship applications, personnel responsible for Foundation scholarship award selections and athletics staff members who were involved in creating Foundation scholarships, ultimately resulting in the violations detailed in Finding Nos. 1 and [NCAA Division III Manual Bylaws and ( through )] The institution and enforcement staff agree that from at least the through the academic years, a University of Wisconsin-Superior Foundation, Inc. (Foundation) scholarship was set aside for a former men's ice hockey student-athlete. Also, from June 2010 through the academic year, a member of the institution's athletics staff was involved in determining the recipient of this Foundation scholarship, which was intended to be awarded to a former men's ice hockey studentathlete.

4 Page No. 4 IV. REVIEW OF VIOLATIONS The submitted SDR fully details the parties' positions in the infractions case and includes the agreed-upon primary facts and violations. In concluding whether the facts constitute violations and the appropriate penalties for those violations, the committee fully reviewed the applicable bylaws and jointly submitted the SDR. The committee accepts the SDR and concludes that the primary facts detailed in Section III establish violations of NCAA legislation. The Foundation's scholarship application form allowed all applicants, including studentathletes, to describe why they deserved a scholarship and to detail their leadership qualities and scholastic achievement. NCAA Bylaw (a) prohibits institutions from considering athletics criteria when formulating financial aid packages for studentathletes. When 110 student-athletes mentioned their athletics participation on the form, and the institution subsequently used the information as criteria in awarding the studentathletes 196 scholarships worth a total of $393,575, the institution violated NCAA Bylaw (a). 2 From through , athletics administrators at the institution did not review or monitor the scholarship selection process, thereby violating NCAA Constitution NCAA Constitution requires that member institutions to monitor their athletics programs. The administrators did not detect that the language in the Foundation's scholarship application form created an NCAA violation when the applicants were student-athletes. Further, the institution did not provide specific NCAA rules education to the foundation staff nor ask any questions regarding the scholarship process. The institution did not realize that the language in the application form was problematic until the NCAA review was ongoing. The failure of the institution to monitor the scholarship selection process and educate the foundation personnel violated NCAA Constitution When the Foundation set aside a scholarship for a former men's ice hockey studentathlete and allowed the institution's athletics marketing and fundraising specialist to be involved in choosing the scholarship recipient, it violated NCAA Bylaws and Those bylaws prohibit institutions from setting aside funds for athletics or allowing athletics staff to be involved in the financial aid process. The marketing specialist was a member of the family that established the scholarship and the funds were not available to the general student population. However, because the Foundation never awarded funds from the scholarship to an individual based on the awardee's status as a 2 The committee acknowledges that bylaw (a) was amended on April 30, 2009, to add the term "leadership." The change was non-substantive, as athletics leadership was previously encompassed in the terms "participation" and "performance." It was added to codify the existing understanding and practice specified in the legislation.

5 Page No. 5 student-athlete and it changed the eligibility criteria once the problem was discovered, the committee concludes this violation is secondary as defined by NCAA Bylaw V. PENALTIES For the reasons set forth in Sections III and IV of this decision, the committee concludes that this case involved major and secondary violations of NCAA legislation. In prescribing the penalties, the committee considered the institution's cooperation in the processing of this case. Cooperation during the infractions process is addressed in NCAA Bylaws and The committee concludes that the cooperation exhibited by the institution was consistent with its obligation under the bylaws. The institution's corrective actions are contained in the Appendix. The committee prescribes the following penalties. General Administrative Penalties 1. Public reprimand and censure. 2. Two years of probation from, through June 25, (The institution similarly proposed a two-year period of probation.) 3. The institution shall request a Level II review from the NCAA Division III Committee on Financial Aid and abide by any recommendations made by the reviewer. Other Administrative Penalties and Measures 4. The director of athletics and assistant director of athletics will attend the NCAA Regional Rules Seminars annually for at least the next three years. (Institution imposed) During at least one year of the probation, the attendees at the NCAA Regional Rules Seminar shall include either the director of financial aid, the director of admissions or the individuals(s) responsible for awarding scholarships through the institution's Foundation. Upon their return to campus, all seminar attendees will become part of the institution's rules education program and, working with the compliance office, will be responsible for educating the offices of admissions, financial aid and the foundation regarding NCAA rules relevant to those offices.

6 Page No During the period of probation, the institution shall: a. Continue to develop and implement a comprehensive educational program on NCAA legislation to instruct the coaches, the faculty athletics representative, all athletics department personnel and all institution staff members with responsibility for the certification of student-athletes' eligibility for admission, financial aid, practice or competition; b. Submit a preliminary report to the Office of the Committees on Infractions by August 15, 2014, setting forth a schedule for establishing this compliance and education program; and c. On May 1 during each year of probation, file with the Office of the Committees on Infractions an annual compliance report indicating the progress made with this program. The report must include documentation of the institution's compliance with the penalties adopted and prescribed by the committee. 6. During the period of probation, the institution shall: a. Inform prospective student-athletes that the institution is on probation for two years and detail the violations committed. The information to prospective student-athletes must be provided as soon as practicable after the prospective student-athlete is recruited pursuant to NCAA Bylaw and, in all instances, before the prospective student-athlete signs a financial aid agreement or initially enrolls at the institution, whichever is earlier. b. Publicize specific and understandable information concerning the nature of the infractions by providing, at a minimum, a statement that includes the types of violations and a direct, conspicuous link to the public infractions decision located on the athletic department's main webpage. The information must also be included in media guides for all sports. The institution's statement must: (i) clearly describe the infractions; (ii) include the length of the probationary period associated with the major infractions case; and (iii) give members of the general public a clear indication of what happened in the major infractions case to allow the public (particularly prospective student-athletes and their families) to make informed, knowledgeable decisions. A statement that refers only to the probation period with nothing more is insufficient.

7 Page No At the conclusion of the two-year probationary period, the institution's chancellor shall confirm in writing to the committee the implementation of the aforementioned corrective actions and penalties and that all current athletics policies, procedures and practices conform to NCAA legislation. As required by NCAA legislation for any institution involved in a major infractions case, The University of Wisconsin, Superior shall be subject to the provisions of NCAA Bylaw , concerning repeat violators, for a five-year period beginning on the effective date of the penalties in this case,. The committee advises the institution that it should take every precaution to ensure that the terms of the penalties are observed. The committee will monitor the penalties during their effective periods. Any action by the institution contrary to the terms of any of the penalties or any additional violations shall be considered grounds for extending the institution's probationary period or prescribing more severe penalties or may result in additional allegations and violations. NCAA COMMITTEE ON INFRACTIONS Dave Cecil, chair Keith R. Jacques Amy Hackett Nancy Meyer

8 Page No. 8 APPENDIX CORRECTIVE ACTIONS AS IDENTIFIED IN THE INSTITUTION'S MARCH 26, 2014, SUMMARY DISPOSITION REPORT. Wisconsin-Superior has reviewed the criteria for all scholarships administered by the institution and its Foundation and, where necessary, has amended said criteria to eliminate any direct or indirect references to athletics participation or leadership as prohibited by NCAA rules. Wisconsin-Superior will implement safeguards to prevent the consideration of athletics leadership, ability or participation in the awarding of scholarships as follows: (1) Verbiage will appear on the websites of the institution and its Foundation clearly identifying Wisconsin-Superior as an NCAA Division III institution, as well as information stipulating the division's prohibition on athletically related financial aid. (2) Verbiage will appear on the application materials for all scholarships administered by the institution and its Foundation identifying Wisconsin-Superior as an NCAA Division III institution, as well as information stipulating the division's prohibition on athletically related financial aid. (3) Instructions will be provided to all scholarship committees stipulating the impermissibility of including in the criteria and/or considering athletics leadership, ability or participation in the awarding process. Wisconsin-Superior has prohibited all members of the athletics department staff from serving on any and all scholarship committees. Wisconsin-Superior has inserted language regarding the aforementioned prohibition in the job description of all athletics department staff members. Job descriptions will also highlight the institution's expectations (no-tolerance) with respect to complying with Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) and NCAA rules, as well as the consequences of intentionally or carelessly violating the rules. Wisconsin-Superior will conduct monthly rules education sessions for members of the athletics department staff. These sessions will serve to reinforce the institution's compliance expectations, policies and procedures, as well as provide specific educational information with respect to WIAC and NCAA rules, including financial aid. Wisconsin-Superior will conduct an annual rules education session for those campus departments that support or interface with the intercollegiate athletics program, including staff members from the offices of the registrar, admissions, financial aid and the Foundation. The

9 Page No. 9 institution's chancellor will be present to reinforce the institution's commitment to complying with WIAC and NCAA rules and the institution's position that compliance is an institutional responsibility, shared by individuals both within and outside the athletics department. Wisconsin-Superior will require the attendance of selected individuals both inside and outside the athletics department (e.g., admissions, registrar, financial aid, Foundation) to attend the Conference Regional Rules seminar in the summer of 2015 should the DIII conferences of the Upper Midwest (i.e., UMCA) be awarded that event.