Irish Say DuBose Ineligible : Football: Notre Dame admits violations occurred but asks NCAA to restore linebacker’s playing status.

Notre Dame admitted Thursday that a violation of NCAA rules occurred in star linebacker Demetrius DuBose’s dealings with a Seattle couple with ties to the university.

The school announced it has declared DuBose ineligible, pending a decision by the NCAA’s eligibility staff.

The announcement came in response to a story in Thursday’s editions of The Times reporting that gifts provided by the couple to DuBose have come under scrutiny by the NCAA. The gifts and a loan were the focus of questioning by an NCAA investigator who visited Seattle, DuBose’s hometown, earlier this year.

NCAA rules prohibit representatives of a school’s athletic interests from providing athletes with benefits not available to the student population as a whole.

DuBose, a senior co-captain, led Notre Dame in tackles last season and has been listed on preseason All-American teams for 1992.

In a statement quoting Athletic Director Dick Rosenthal, the school said it declared DuBose ineligible “a number of weeks ago” and then requested that his eligibility be restored by the NCAA “because of the unique facts present in this case.”

According to sources familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified, DuBose has received a variety of gifts while at Notre Dame from a married couple in Seattle, both of whom are former Notre Dame students. The couple also loaned DuBose about $5,000, the sources said.

“The university has, in fact, acknowledged that a violation has occurred,” Rosenthal said in the statement. “However, it is important to point out that Demetrius DuBose did not know that the particulars in this case resulted in an NCAA violation because his friendship with the individuals in question began prior to his recruitment by Notre Dame.”

Rosenthal also took issue with the reported amount of the loan, which he said was $600.

His statement neither identified the couple in question nor provided other details of the arrangement.

“We do not feel it is appropriate to comment further until the NCAA eligibility staff renders its expected decision next week.”

The NCAA eligibility staff, part of the organization’s enforcement department, can restore DuBose’s eligibility, rule that he can play after sitting out a certain number of games or make him permanently ineligible.

If Notre Dame disputes the staff’s decision, the school can appeal to the NCAA Eligibility Committee, which is made up of athletic administrators from NCAA schools.

Notre Dame opens its season Sept. 5 at Northwestern.

In addition to dealing with DuBose’s eligibility, the NCAA could determine that an institutional sanction is warranted by the matter. Such sanctions, imposed by the NCAA Committee on Infractions, can range from a reprimand to a ban on postseason competition.

Monte Kohler, who was DuBose’s coach at Seattle’s Bishop O’Dea High, has said that the couple in question are “friends of O’Dea” and have helped DuBose without regard to his playing at Notre Dame.

The Associated Press quoted DuBose Thursday as saying only: “I’ll deal with (the matter) later.”