Tulsa Receives Harsh Penalties for Violations

Tulsa was put on three years’ probation by the NCAA on Tuesday for violations in the track and field program. Tulsa has to forfeit its NCAA women’s golf championship won in 1988, and will be prohibited from postseason play in all sports this school year.

Robert Donaldson, Tulsa president, was shocked at the severity of the penalties, which sanction programs that did not violate rules. He said the university would consider an appeal.

The violations occurred during three consecutive seasons beginning in 1987-88. The NCAA said Tulsa track coaches allowed ineligible players to compete, encouraged players to use false names and lied about the number of participants who competed in meets. Coaches allegedly scoured dormitories looking for students to compete in track meets, and asked athletes to use one name for one event and another name for a different event.

The NCAA said other athletic programs at Tulsa must suffer because the school could not have maintained Division I-A status if it had not cheated to keep the track program eligible.