Tennessee releases list of self-reported NCAA secondary violations

KNOXVILLE – Tennessee’s compliance department released a list of 21 self-reported secondary violations committed “recently” on Tuesday.

The report doesn’t list a specific time period of when these violations occurred, though the most recent one took place on Jan. 23 of this year and the oldest listed occurred on Sept. 13, 2011.

Per the NCAA handbook a secondary violation is, “[A rule violation] that is isolated or inadvertent in nature, provides or is intended to provide only a minimal recruiting, competitive or other advantage and does not include any significant recruiting inducement or extra benefit.”

A small-to-moderate amount of self-reported secondary violations is normal for a major university and can actually be a sign of a strong compliance department. Schools that report no secondary violations or an inordinate amount could be targeted by the NCAA for further investigation.

Football reported four, with the most recent coming on Dec. 5, 2012. Men’s basketball had three and women’s basketball had two. Other sports such as swimming, baseball, softball and track and field along with areas such as the media relations department accounted for the rest.

For a full list, click here, but these are some of the more notable ones:

Football:

12/5/2013: Football administrative intern provided coaching to student athletes during a football game.  Action taken: Rules education; Withheld from attending practice for one week.

7/12/2012: Twitter page maintained by recruiting office re-tweeted a post by perspective student athlete. Action taken: Rules education for involved personnel; Post deleted.

Men’s basketball:

9/21/2012: Individual skill instruction was conducted in front of a general audience prior to a football game. Subsequent to the skill instruction, perspective student athletes making official visits were permitted to shoot on the court while the coaches were present. Action taken: Rules education for coaches and university staff members involved in decision to open concourse of Thompson-Boling Arena.

Men’s swimming:

2/3/2012: Student athletes placed bets on professional and collegiate sports besides their own. Action taken: Rules education to all student athletes on sports wagering; student athletes ineligible for team activities for the remainder of the year.