Since his time at Ball State University, first-year coach Ronny Thompson was involved in two separate violations of NCAA rules.
According to documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, the men's basketball coaching staff attended pre-season weight training events and open gym sessions. From May 15 to July 21, coaches attended these sessions and the university estimated that the total time spent at the sessions by coaches totaled 435 minutes, according to the self-report documents.
Ball State recommended a reduction of 870 minutes of practice time during the regular season as punishment. Thompson and his assistant coaches met with Dave Land, then-director of athletic compliance and eligibility, to discuss the broken bylaw. Thompson received a letter of admonishment from Land about the issue.
Senior Skip Mills said the issues surrounding what happened during the summer didn't hamper the team at all.
"Teams deal with that all the time," he said. "I mean, the Bulls had issues with Dennis Rodman. So I don't look at that as something that can affect you from winning. We're the ones on the court. When the ball's tossed up, we're not thinking about a violation from two or three months ago. So I don't really consider that a problem. I don't think that was an issue."
The self-report documents also indicated that Thompson violated another NCAA rule prior to the 2006-2007 season, when he was a main speaker at a Rotary Club luncheon. The event was open to the public and Thompson made reference to Zach Garcia as a member of the team. At that time, Garcia had not turned in his national letter of intent to play basketball for Ball State, and Thompson's mention of Garcia was a violation of NCAA rules. Garcia is no longer a member of the team. He left half-way through the season to return to California.
"The coach, who is new to his position, did not know the event was open to the public, and furthermore believed that he could mention [potential student athletes] by name as long as he did not speak of their athletic ability," documents said.
Thompson was made aware of his comments after the luncheon, and a self report of the violations was filed with the Mid-American Conference and the NCAA.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
