Struggling to recover from a second major NCAA rules infraction and penalty in three years, the Ball State Athletics Department has increased internal monitoring to keep the school's teams in compliance with the complex and massive NCAA rule book.
The NCAA, which is based in Indianapolis, slapped Ball State with a three-year probation this summer for six rule violations committed by former women's tennis coach Kathy Bull, including excessive practice requirements and asking players to falsify practice hour logs. Just last year, the school finished its two-year NCAA probation imposed in 2007 for a textbook scandal in 2005, when 48 athletes were penalized for receiving textbooks for classes they were not enrolled in.
"This is a very significant penalty," said Donald Jackson, a sports law attorney based out of Alabama who has appeared on ESPN's "Outside the Lines." "[Attempting to cover up rules violations is] one of the most serious violations you could have as a coach or player. If you characterize it as a crime, it would be a serious felony, if not a capital crime.
"If you look at the cases in the last several years there has been a trend to impose more severe sanctions for unethical conduct or lack of institutional control."
A review of the NCAA's Legislative Services Database revealed 240 cases through Sept. 4 of major rules violations for all Division I athletic programs. Ball State accounts for only three cases (1994, 2007, 2010). Multiple schools, including Alabama, Memphis, Arizona State and Purdue, have also had at least three major infraction cases.
Multiple phone calls and e-mails were unreturned by the NCAA.
Pat Quinn, associate athletics director for Compliance and Operations at Ball State, knows the university has taken a hit to its reputation but feels it does a good job with rules compliance despite recent evidence to the contrary.
"You face challenges in everything you do," Quinn said. "We're all under the microscope. It doesn't matter who you are in college athletics. We're analyzed and criticized by the media and fans. We just give the best effort we can."
What does probation mean?
Ball State must establish a compliance and education program with the NCAA, which was accomplished by the Aug. 27 due date. Reports with emphasis on adherence to practice hour rules must be filed with the office of Committee on Infractions by April 15 each year until 2013.
At the conclusion of the probationary period on July 12, 2013, President Jo Ann Gora must submit a letter to the committee stating Ball State has met all the requirements set by the NCAA.
The women's tennis program self-imposed a two-hour cut in weekly practice hours in 2010 from the normal 20 hours to 18.
Preventing further rules violations during probation could prove to be difficult and costly if not achieved. According to documents obtained through the Indiana Access to Public Records Act, 28 rules violations were committed from October 2007 to Aug. 17, 2009. Most of the 28 violations were secondary, which are not considered serious infractions.
"Ball State is in the repeat-offender window," Jackson said. "If there are additional sanctions in the future, they could be subject to competition bans. The fact that there were two major rules violation sanctions so close together, the recent sanctions could have been much worse."
The repeat-violator clause ramps up the severity of penalties from probation to postseason bans, vacation of wins or competition bans, particularly if the NCAA views a school having a lack of institutional control.
The length and complexity of the rule book is an obstacle Quinn and the Athletics Department face along with rule changes and new interpretations of old rules.
"We try to educate and be proactive to answering questions our coaches or staff may have," athletics director Tom Collins said. "The rule book is 487 pages long, so there are a lot of rules to enforce."
Bull's attorney, Michael Buckner, said rules violations are great instruments for improving what athletics departments do to ensure rules compliance.
Quinn doesn't necessarily agree. Quinn said athletics departments must constantly evaluate the methods and tools used in educating staff members of the rules.
"Rules education is ongoing. It never ends," Quinn said. "We do the best we can to educate everyone in the best possible fashion."
According to Quinn, the Athletics Department uses department-wide meetings, meetings with head coaches, e-mails, newsletters and bulletins when there is a new interpretation for a rule.
"No system is ever perfect. All we can do is work together and make it work," Collins said. "We just have to make what we have work and educate the best we can to adhere to the rulebook."
Time will tell if Ball State can repair its reputation or if more trouble is on the horizon for its athletic programs.
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