South Carolina Reports 22 NCAA, SEC Infractions In Past Year
PETE IACOBELLI, AP Sports Writer
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina's athletic department reported 23 violations of NCAA or Southeastern Conference rules in the past year, nine involving the football team.
All but one of the infractions were classified as Level III and outlined by the NCAA as violations isolated or limited in nature; provide no more than a minimal recruiting, competitive or other advantage; and do not include more than a minimal impermissible benefit.
South Carolina released its infractions report this week from an open records request by The Associated Press. The time period is from August 2015 through July.
Six of the nine violations involving football came since Will Muschamp took over in December. One, though, occurred when ex-coach Steve Spurrier told reporters that the daughter of a former NFL player was visiting campus.
The names of athletes or coaches involved were not included in the documents.
Most violations are far from those that bring splashy headlines and put schools on probation.
The violation of SEC guidelines was when a football quality control coordinator used a headset while in the press box to talk with coaches on the field. The school suspended the quality control coach for one game and the SEC took no additional action, according to the school's documents.
In February, a restaurateur classified as a Gamecocks booster was handed a phone by a prospect's uncle to leave a voicemail for the prospect's father. The next month, a former South Carolina player posed for pictures with two prospects on unofficial visits.
In both cases, the school provided those involved with additional education and the NCAA accepted those remedies without taking any additional action.
There are two football violations pending, one in May where a football player was found to have gotten impermissible transportation for three-and-a-half months and another in June where prospects got impermissible lodging on an unofficial visit.
In the first, South Carolina declared the player ineligible and made to pay restitution to charity. In the other, the school provided those staffers involved with addition rules' education and requested relief from NCAA penalties.
Three infractions were not classified to the football program yet involved the sport.
In October, a chapter of the Gamecock Club booster group posted an internet link to a story detailing a prospect's verbal commitment to South Carolina. In February, a football manager worked with the team while not enrolled as a full-time student. Also that month, an ex-Gamecocks player wrongly re-Tweeted a prospects post before he had signed a letter of intent.
All the school's corrective actions were accepted by the NCAA.
Among other sports, the three-time SEC women's basketball champions reported four infractions. One involved a player getting transportation, meals and lodging while not eligible to play. The school declared the player ineligible and made to donate costs of the impermissible benefit to charity.
The NCAA imposed additional penalties for one women's basketball violation after an assistant coach texted a 2019 prospect with the same first name as a current player they intended to text. The NCAA banned South Carolina from electronically corresponding with that prospect for two weeks.
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