The Pac-10 stripped the UCLA men’s tennis team of its 2008 team conference title for a violation committed by one of the team’s players who accepted money against NCAA regulations, according to a statement released by the conference on Friday.
The team was forced to forfeit each of the singles and doubles matches in which the player participated during the 2008 Pac-10 season.
Surrendering these matches led to the reversal of two match outcomes, specifically UCLA’s conference victories over USC and Arizona State.
As a result, the formerly undefeated Bruins dropped into a tie for second place in that year’s conference standings, giving the championship to USC.
Members of the UCLA Athletics department and UCLA men’s tennis coach Billy Martin refused to name the student-athlete in question, citing student privacy laws.
The department allowed only senior co-captain Michael Look to speak on behalf of the team’s players.
UCLA Athletics denied requests to interview several players who, according to an analysis of the forfeited matches, were potential candidates for the violation.
The implicated student-athlete accepted money from an employer to pay for his student fees at some point during the 2008 season.
According to a press release issued by the university, the player wrongly assumed that because he would be earning the funds through employment, it would not be a violation of policy.
However, after learning that the player was being paid up-front, UCLA’s compliance office reported the incident to both the NCAA and the Pac-10.
The NCAA chose to reinstate the player’s eligibility after requesting he pay part of the fee amount to charity. The player was eligible and did participate in the Bruins’ 2009 season.
During the course of this season, however, a complaint was filed to the Pac-10 asking the conference to complete a separate evaluation and levy its own consequences.
“I can tell you I was surprised that the Pac-10 came down on us, after getting cleared by the NCAA,” Martin said. “If the NCAA was going to be somewhat understanding, I certainly thought the Pac-10 would be.”
In March of this year, Martin notified his team that their previous year’s conference championship would be taken away.
There were five players on the 2009 roster that had contributed to the team’s 2008, 7-0 conference record. One of those was Look, who described a feeling of shock when hearing the news.
“We were a bit angry, but then I think disappointment set in,” Look said. “We’ve got to accept the rules and what the Pac-10 voted on. So there’s nothing we can do to change it.”
However, the blow was softened significantly for UCLA by the success of the program over the two-year period.
In 2008, UCLA went 25-2 overall en route to an NCAA semifinal appearance and the No. 5 spot in the final national rankings.
This year the Bruins won the Pac-10 Championships with another undefeated conference season, taking what was their sixth-straight title before the Pac-10’s penalty was enforced this week.
“We had a great year last year, a year way beyond our expectations,” Martin said. “It still hurts, but I think it’s so far removed that it wouldn’t be legit to say that we’re hurting real badly. The fact that we won (the Pac-10) this year takes the hurt away.”