UCLA Ordered to Repay Portion of Earnings

45% of its earnings from the 1999 NCAA tournament--as the final discipline in the JaRon Rush case.

The Bruins could have been fined up to 90% of the $100,800 they made for the first-round loss to Detroit Mercy, but the NCAA reaffirmed previous statements that the school had no knowledge that Rush should have been ineligible and therefore settled on the lesser penalty. No lien was put on UCLA’s 2000 tournament run because Rush, whose violations had come to light in December, already had been suspended.

“We knew what the precedent was for situations like this, and it’s about what we expected,” Associate Athletic Director Betsy Stephenson said of the 45% penalty.

Rush’s high school team this week forfeited two Missouri state titles because he and younger brother Kareem violated amateurism rules by accepting benefits. That was the same case that got UCLA in trouble and resulted in a 24-game suspension for Rush.

Also Friday, the NCAA said Texas Tech must return $282,800 for using two players who should have been academically ineligible during the 1996 tournament and that Arizona must return $45,321--the same 45% as UCLA--from its 1999 tournament share.

Arizona was sanctioned because Jason Terry played in the first-round loss to Oklahoma, despite having previously taken more than $11,000 and benefits from agents.