The former Air Force men's golf head coach violated NCAA rules when he knowingly participated in impermissible sports wagering, including placing bets on the football program at Air Force, according to an agreement released by the Division I Committee on Infractions. An additional recruiting violation occurred in the men's ice hockey program, when two assistant coaches had recruiting conversations with a potential transfer student-athlete who had not yet entered the NCAA Transfer Portal.
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The former Air Force men's golf head coach violated NCAA rules when he knowingly participated in impermissible sports wagering, including placing bets on the football program at Air Force, according to an agreement released by the Division I Committee on Infractions. An additional recruiting violation occurred in the men's ice hockey program, when two assistant coaches had recruiting conversations with a potential transfer student-athlete who had not yet entered the NCAA Transfer Portal.
The school, enforcement staff and former men's golf head coach agreed the violations occurred when the coach created an account for an online sports wagering program using his then girlfriend's identification information because he knew NCAA rules prohibited participating in wagering on sports (at any level) that the NCAA sponsors. Over the course of four months, he wagered $9,259 on 253 occasions — including both professional and college sports — using that account. Of those wagers, 107 were on NCAA events, including six Air Force football games.
Because NCAA rules do not permit sports wagering, the head coach's conduct violated NCAA principles of honesty and sportsmanship. Furthermore, because of his personal involvement in the violations and his efforts to conceal behavior he knew was impermissible, he did not promote an atmosphere of compliance and thus violated NCAA head coach responsibility rules.
The school, enforcement staff, men's ice hockey head coach and two assistant coaches agreed that an additional violation at Air Force occurred in the men's ice hockey program, when two assistant coaches had approximately 18 impermissible recruiting contacts with a prospective student-athlete and his father before that student-athlete had entered the Transfer Portal. The men's ice hockey head coach is responsible for the behavior of his staff, and thus the parties agreed to a head coach responsibility violation.
This case was processed through the negotiated resolution process. The process was used instead of a formal hearing or summary disposition because the university, coaches and enforcement staff agreed on the violations and the penalties. The Division I Committee on Infractions reviewed the case to determine whether the resolution was in the best interests of the Association and whether the agreed-upon penalties were reasonable. Negotiated resolutions may not be appealed and do not set case precedent for other infractions cases.
The parties used ranges identified by the Division I membership-approved infractions penalty guidelines to agree upon Level I-mitigated penalties for the university, Level I-aggravated penalties for the men's golf head coach, Level II-standard penalties for the men's ice hockey assistant coaches and Level II-mitigated penalties for the men's ice hockey head coach. The decision contains the full list of penalties as approved by the Committee on Infractions, including:
- Three additional years of probation, to be served after the school's existing probationary period stemming from a previous infractions case, extending the probationary period until September 2027.
- A $5,000 fine.
- A two-week prohibition in all recruiting communications in men's ice hockey.
- A five-year show-cause order for the former men's golf head coach. During the show-cause order, any employing member institution shall restrict the former head coach from any athletically related position. If the former head coach becomes employed in the first year after the show-cause order, he shall be suspended for 50% of the men's golf regular season.
- A one-year show cause for each of the men's ice hockey assistant coaches. During the show-cause order, any employing member institution shall suspend the coaches from three games in the first three series of the 2023-24 men's ice hockey season.
Members of the Committee on Infractions are drawn from the NCAA membership and members of the public. The members of the panel who reviewed this case are Norman Bay, attorney in private practice; Vince Nicastro, deputy commissioner and chief operating officer of the Big East; and Dave Roberts, special advisor to Southern California and chief hearing officer for the panel.
