UCLA Basketball Loses Scholarships for ‘Minor’ Violations

The UCLA men’s basketball program was censured for recruiting violations Monday and two scholarships in the 1988-89 school year were taken away, but the relatively minor actions by the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. were greeted with expressions of relief by UCLA officials.

The NCAA verdict did not involve any probation period; other sanctions related to UCLA’s postseason play; or appearances on television.

The NCAA Infractions Committee report said it may consider additional penalties if UCLA does not take appropriate action against an unnamed booster involved in one of the recruiting cases.

The committee said it believes UCLA should require total disassociation of the booster to ensure that improper benefits are not given in the future. The NCAA said the same booster was involved in another infractions case at UCLA in 1981.

“Most of the violations which have been found were very minor, or of a technical nature,” UCLA Chancellor Charles E. Young said of the report. “I hope all of us have learned from this, that minor or technical violations are very important.

“I believe we were handled very fairly given the kind of allegations that were made. I’m pleased that the NCAA agreed with us that some of the allegations were not valid. I’m pleased that this is as small as it is.”

The committee said that the principal issues in this case were: “The provision of apartment rent during the spring of 1985 for a prospective student-athlete in men’s basketball by a well-known representative of the university’s athletics interests; and the recruitment of, signing of a national letter of intent by, and subsequent release from that letter of intent for an outstanding prospective student athlete in men’s basketball.

“There were additional violations in the case that individually were minor in nature, but that involved the men’s head basketball coach, who placed himself in circumstances he should have avoided.”

One alleged violation by UCLA Coach Walt Hazzard, labeled minor in the NCAA report, occurred in mid-1986 after a high school all-star tournament game on the UCLA campus.

The report said that “the men’s head basketball coach had an in-person recruiting contact with a prospective student-athlete and the rest of the young man’s team at a time and place when such contacts were not permissible.

“Moreover, once these violations were revealed, the head coach’s inconsistent statements concerning some of the events in question almost turned the minor violations into serious matters,” the report added.

Hazzard said: “Today, I’m relieved. At this point, I think our program has weathered the storm and now we’re looking ahead to the future. The NCAA dealt with us very fairly. I have no denials. We answered the questions. We regret the mistakes we’ve made.”

Hazzard said the ordered reduction from six to four scholarships in 1988-89 is “a setback we have to live with.”

The individual who signed a letter of intent to attend UCLA, and later asked to be released from that commitment, was Sean Higgins, a 6-foot-9 inch Fairfax High player who later signed with the University of Michigan. Along with allegations of improper inducements, there was a family squabble that included statements by Higgins he was coerced by his stepfather to sign the UCLA letter.

UCLA Athletic Director Peter Dalis said of the Higgins matter: “It was at best a very bizarre situation. I wish the young man well. In a sense I’m glad it worked out the way it did.”

Dalis added that some of the alleged violations investigated by the NCAA were “self-reported” by the university.

In addition, two UCLA players were ruled to be ineligible because a technical recruiting violation occurred. The players were not identified by either UCLA or in the NCAA report, but Young said the two players’ eligibility has already been restored.

The penalty relating to scholarships means UCLA will be limited to 13 scholarship basketball players through the 1988-89 season, the same number of players currently on scholarship at UCLA.

The four additional scholarships will allow UCLA to replace four players who will be lost through attrition after the 1987-88 season. NCAA regulations set a maximum of 15 basketball scholarships. The school will be allowed to go back to 15 in the 1989-90 school year.

Violations or questionable practices cited by the infractions committee included:

--A booster paid more than $2,300 for part of the security deposit and rent on a recruit’s apartment.

--A booster provided $250 in free legal services to a recruit involved in an eviction proceeding.

--Free transportation provided to recruits by the head basketball coach and a booster in November 1986.

--The head coach loaned his personal car to a player to transport a recruit during the fall of the 1984-85 school year.