UCLA Doesn’t Expect Sanctions

UCLA officials said Tuesday they do not foresee any sanctions against the school resulting from the NCAA probe of several violations committed during the final months of Jim Harrick’s tenure.

Athletic Director Peter Dalis said the NCAA investigation basically was a rehash of what the Pacific 10 Conference discovered in a previous investigation, including the false expense report and lies that led to Harrick’s firing, improper telephone calls to recruits and misuse of complimentary tickets.

After its probe, the Pac-10 delivered no sanction against UCLA but passed along the matter to the NCAA.

“We don’t have that sense,” Dalis said of the possibility of NCAA sanctions. “Double adjudication is what I call it. The NCAA just had to take a look.”

UCLA Coach Steve Lavin emphasized Tuesday that the violations centered around Harrick, not the program itself. Though he was Harrick’s top assistant during the time in question and served as his recruiting coordinator, Lavin has not been the focus of the probes.

“It’s not our program that’s really [being investigated],” Lavin said. “Coach Harrick is really kind of the center of the investigation. So that hasn’t really been a concern as far as what the future of UCLA basketball is. Obviously, it’s a concern for Coach Harrick. Hope things work out for him.”

Harrick, hired by Rhode Island in May, was fired last November by UCLA for filing a false expense report for an Oct. 11, 1996, recruiting dinner, then lying about it to school officials.

Misleading UCLA administrators is considered by far the most serious of the violations.

Together, the other violations are generally considered minor. But the NCAA can look at the violations as a pattern of behavior.

The other improper activities discovered include free meals being provided to players at a local sandwich shop, excessive phone calls to recruits Baron Davis and Earl Watson--both freshmen on this year’s team--and exceeding the allowance of $20 per recruit by two players serving as recruiting hosts.

Also, local basketball figure Pat Barrett improperly received a 1995 national title ring--valued at $200--from Harrick.

The NCAA could sanction Harrick or Rhode Island, but sources said neither was likely.