| | KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee faces harsh penalties if academic fraud allegations are proved, however, forfeiting its 1998 national football title would not be one of them, a former NCAA official said Tuesday.
"Academic fraud is one of the more serious violations because
it really goes to the whole heart of the student-athlete and the
athletic program," said David Swank, immediate past chairman of
the NCAA's Committee on Infractions.
"Now, obviously you have different degrees of fraud," said
Swank, a law professor at the University of Oklahoma.
New Mexico State, Michigan State, Texas Tech, Miami and
Minnesota have all been hit with allegations of academic violations
in recent years. Penalties have included NCAA probation and loss of
scholarships.
Although the NCAA has withdrawn championships from schools that
violate rules -- such as the UCLA women's softball champions in 1995
-- Swank noted the national football title is created by the schools
and bowl games and "is not an NCAA championship."
So Tennessee's 1998 football crown would not be affected, "regardless of what would happen," he said.
The NCAA is aware of the allegations at Tennessee but has not
started a formal investigation. Meantime, Tennessee has started an
internal probe into whether tutors did schoolwork for athletes.
Carl Asp, Tennessee's faculty athletics representative since
1992, said the investigation could take several weeks and will be
thorough.
"We would like it over in a day. But that is not realistic, is
it?" said Asp, a speech professor and principal in the
university's internal review.
Chancellor Bill Snyder said his concerns go beyond sports.
"Academic dishonesty and plagiarism, if that is verified, we
take a very strong position on that," he said. "Regardless of who
is involved ... whether student-athletes or not."
ESPN.com has reported that internal memos show high-level
administrators in UT's athletics department were told four tutors
might have done schoolwork for at least five football
players, a baseball player and a female athlete.
None of this information was passed on to campus authorities
charged with investigating possible rules infractions, university officials say. | |
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