NCAA Slaps Irish With Probation

Notre Dame’s storied football program got a light but embarrassing slap Friday when the NCAA put the school on probation for the first time.

The Irish football team received a two-year probation and will also lose two scholarships.

The NCAA, however, did not touch Notre Dame’s postseason eligibility. And its TV contract with NBC, worth an estimated $8 million to $9 million annually, is not affected.

Notre Dame, the fifth Division I-A football program on probation with the NCAA, said it will not appeal the ruling.

“It’s a sad day,” said the Rev. Edward Malloy, the university president. “I feel badly that this has happened, mostly because the behavior of some of our student-athletes is simply unacceptable according to Notre Dame’s own standard, not because of what the NCAA says.”

The penalties stem from the relationship between Irish players and former booster Kimberly Dunbar, 30, who embezzled more than $1.2 million from her employer and then lavished the players with gifts, trips and money.

The announcement ended an almost two-year investigation into the relationship, which has been a source of embarrassment for the Roman Catholic university as details of Dunbar’s relationship with several players, in some cases sexual, came to light. Dunbar, 30, has a child with former player Jarvis Edison.

The NCAA Committee on Infractions called the violations major and “neither isolated nor inadvertent.” The NCAA cited the length of time during which the violations occurred, the extravagant nature of the gifts, and the competitive advantage gained by Notre Dame.

The committee also said Notre Dame could have avoided the infractions if it had been more vigilant in monitoring its players.