Notre Dame Boosters Gave Gifts : Football: President of alumni group and his wife provided loan to DuBose, who has been declared ineligible.

The president of a Notre Dame alumni group and his wife provided the loan and gifts that caused the university to declare star linebacker Demetrius DuBose ineligible, The Times has learned.

According to a source familiar with the situation, Grant E. Courtney, president of the Western Washington Notre Dame Alumni Club, and his wife, Rose, are the Seattle couple who provided DuBose, a former Seattle high school star, with the improper benefits. The source asked not to be identified.

Notre Dame announced Thursday that it has declared DuBose, a senior All-American candidate, ineligible because of NCAA rules violations.

The school’s announcement came in response to a story in The Times on Wednesday that reported that a variety of gifts--including a loan--provided to DuBose by an unnamed Seattle couple with ties to the university have come under scrutiny by the NCAA.

As president of the Western Washington Notre Dame Alumni Club, Courtney, 33, heads a branch of the Notre Dame Alumni Assn. that would normally play a key role in fund-raising and student recruiting for the university.

According to the Washington State Bar Assn., Courtney received his law degree from Notre Dame and is an attorney for the Seattle firm of Lane, Powell, Spears and Lubersky.

According to the source, Rose Courtney formerly worked in the Notre Dame admissions office.

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

Contacted Friday at his Seattle office, Grant Courtney would say only: “I really have nothing to talk to you about.” Asked for his version of the story, so that his side could be fairly shown, Courtney said, “Your version of fairness and mine are not the same.”

The school said Thursday it is awaiting a ruling by the NCAA eligibility staff, which could restore DuBose’s eligibility immediately, allow him to play after sitting out a certain number of games or rule him permanently ineligible.

The Irish open their season Sept. 5 against Northwestern at Soldier Field in Chicago.

The DuBose situation also could lead the NCAA to levy institutional sanctions against Notre Dame. Such sanctions can range from a reprimand to a ban on postseason competition.

The Times has reported that the amount of the loan to DuBose was $5,000 and that the player agreed, in a handwritten promissory note, to pay the money back after signing a contract with an NFL team next year.

In the school’s Thursday statement, Athletic Director Dick Rosenthal said the school acknowledges that “a violation (of NCAA rules) has occurred” as a result of DuBose’s dealings with the couple.

Rosenthal added, however, that DuBose was unaware of any impropriety because his relationship with the couple began before he was recruited by Notre Dame.

Rosenthal also said in the statement that the amount of the loan was only $600.

The statement did not identify the couple or provide other details about the situation.

Monte Kohler, who was DuBose’s coach at Bishop O’Dea High in Seattle, has also declined to identify the couple. He has, however, called them “friends of O’Dea” and has described their relationship with DuBose as being unrelated to the fact he plays for Notre Dame.