Minnesota Receives NCAA Inquiry

The University of Minnesota said today it has received a letter of inquiry from the NCAA alleging violations of NCAA rules. The university planned to make the letter public at a news conference later today.

University officials said the letter would be released with “names and identifiers removed.”

The NCAA investigation reportedly is centered on reports of payments to athletes, including some football players, by Luther Darville. Darville is a former administrator with the university’s Office of Minority and Special Student Affairs.

Darville was convicted in November, 1989, of stealing nearly $200,000 in university funds. He had testified that he gave the money to needy student-athletes and other students on orders from his superiors at the university. The prosecution contended he took the money for his personal use and university officials denied knowledge of any such payments.

Former Minnesota Coach Lou Holtz, now at Notre Dame, was implicated by LeRoy Gardner, a former Minnesota academic adviser, who said the coach once gave him money to give to a player.

An NCAA spokesman told the Associated Press today that the organization would have no comment on its investigation.

The university said in a statement today that most of the allegations in the inquiry are based on the school’s own self-investigation, the reports of which were submitted to the NCAA in June, 1989, and February, 1990.

“The official inquiry is pretty much what we expected and contains no surprises,” Athletic Director Rick Bay said in the statement. “While it may seem odd, we are pleased to have the official inquiry so that we can have our hearing before the NCAA Infractions Committee and put this matter behind us.”

In addition to its own investigation, “the university has cooperated with the NCAA enforcement staff on all follow-up matters that they addressed,” Bay said.