GD Blog: UCF Receives One-Year Ban from NCAA

Glenn McGraw | July 31, 2012 at 12:43 pm | 0 Comments

UCF and head coach George O’Leary receive one-year bowl ban from NCAA. (Chuck Cook-US PRESSWIRE)

Welcome to the dog house Central Florida. According to ESPN.com sources, the NCAA dropped a one-year bowl ban on the football program and a one-year NCAA tournament ban on the basketball program for recruiting violations committed by both programs.

Due to the one-year ban levied by the NCAA, Conference USA will also ban UCF from postseason play in this year’s conference basketball tournament.

The Knights are leaving C-USA for the Big East in 2013, however with the ban given by the NCAA, meaningful play in C-USA is essentially over for UCF.

According to ESPN:

UCF was involved with runners for sports agents and cash payments as well as gifts to recruits.

The initial report from the NCAA alleged that runner Ken Caldwell and Brandon Bender tried to help get players to UCF, including six men’s basketball and five football prospects. The allegations included Tribble’s involvement of trying to land jobs for recruits.

The following penalties were also given to the university (courtesy of ESPN):

Lack of institutional control charge.
One finding of unethical conduct for former assistant football coach David Kelly.
One finding of failure to monitor compliance for men’s basketball coach Donnie Jones.
Five years’ probation for the school.
Limit on scholarships in football and basketball for two seasons that were already self-imposed.
Financial penalty of $50,000 for the school.
Vacation of men’s basketball victories in 2008-11, which was already self-imposed.
Acceptance of Jones’ three-game suspension last season to open C-USA play.
Reduction in football coaches who can recruit off campus from seven to five and for men’s basketball at any one time from three to two.
Jones and assistant Darren Tillis will not be able to recruit on the road in July 2013.
Three-year show cause for Jones but with specifics that he has to attend regional rules seminars in 2013 and ’14. Any school that hires Jones in the next three years has to find out if he has done these things before hiring him (although there is no indication that Jones’ job is in jeopardy).
Former athletic director Keith Tribble received a three-year show cause penalty and cannot contact by phone or in person any prospective recruit. Tribble resigned in November.
One-year show cause for Kelly, who is not employed by a school at this time.
No sanctions were levied against football coach George O’Leary.