The NCAA Committee on Infractions has extended the University of
Washington’s probation for an additional two years for
gambling and recruiting violations in the football program, as well
as for the institution’s failure to monitor itself. The
probationary period will now last until February 2007. The most
recent infractions case focused on former football coach
Rick Neuheisel’s participation in
impermissible gambling activities in the NCAA Division I
Men’s Basketball Championship. Neuheisel acknowledged to
taking part in “auctions” and betting pools during the
tournament in 2002 and 2003. The case also included recruiting
violations that involved impermissible contacts between a booster
and a football recruit. These contacts involved rides on the
booster’s yacht from Washington’s campus to
Neuheisel’s home. A key tenet of the probation limits the
number of expense-paid visits to Washington’s campus for
recruits in football to 48 for the next two years.
CROSS COUNTRY: The women’s cross-country
team will race at the CS Fullerton Invitational this Saturday, the
team’s final meet before the Pac-10 Championships. Head coach
Eric Peterson is opting to rest most of his regular starters for
the meet. Juniors Lori Mann, Leslie
Barrie, Ashley Allen and Jenny
Esser, sophomore Emily Haigh, and
freshman Alice Bohannon are entered in the 5000m
race. Although the event also features a men’s race, none of
the Bruins will be competing.
TENNIS: The men’s and women’s ITA
regionals get underway today. UCLA’s men’s team will be
competing at the West Regional at Pepperdine University. Last year,
UCLA’s Tobias Clemens, who graduated last
spring, captured the championship. Meanwhile, the women will be
playing in San Diego.
MEN’S BASKETBALL: Virginia athletic
director Craig Littlepage will serve as chair of
the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee during the
2005-2006 academic year. Littlepage will succeed Iowa athletic
director Bob Bowlsby as the chair and will serve
as the chair of the committee’s television subcommittee this
year.