Allegations of Violations Target Lavin

UCLA on Thursday asked the Pacific 10 Conference to investigate allegations of wrongdoing by its basketball program.

The allegations came in the form of an anonymous e-mail sent during the NCAA tournament to Arn Tellem, Bruin Coach Steve Lavin’s agent, and to three senior UCLA administrators, including Athletic Director Peter Dalis. The Times has obtained a copy of the letter.

In a conference call Thursday with reporters, Dalis said he has investigated the allegations and cannot substantiate them.

Still, he turned over the e-mail and school phone records to Dan Coonan, the Pac-10’s assistant commissioner for governance and enforcement.

“It appears to me it’s someone trying to damage the program and Coach Lavin,” said Dalis, adding that he e-mailed a reply to the original e-mail requesting a face-to-face meeting with the sender but got no response.

It’s not known if Dalis provided the Pac-10 with Lavin’s personal phone records. The coach typically uses his own cell phone, a UCLA source said.

Coonan said the conference plans to investigate the situation.

“We’ll be looking into it,” he said. “Beyond that, we really don’t comment.”

Among the allegations against Lavin: He paid players and purchased cars for them; he had illegal contact with recruits; he provided a player with a personal trainer; and he bought a car for an independent academic tutor working with recruits. The allegations, all potential NCAA violations, involve eight players or recruits during a three-year period.

Dalis said he met with Lavin about the allegations Thursday and was “satisfied with his responses.”

Lavin has hired a Bay Area attorney to determine the origin of the e-mail and pursue legal recourse, an athletic department source said. He has been instructed by Dalis not to speak publicly about the matter.

In its Thursday edition, the Los Angeles Daily News quoted two players recruited by UCLA as saying they had contact with Bruin coaches at a time of the year when such contact is prohibited by NCAA rules.

The story said that Errick Craven, a senior at Torrance Bishop Montgomery High, said Lavin met with him around March of last year in his high school coach’s office. Jamaal Williams, a senior at Corona Centennial High, was quoted in the article as saying UCLA coaches contacted him “all the time” during his junior year.

NCAA rules prohibit college coaches from making phone contact with recruits before June 21 after the players’ junior year. Ten days later, coaches are permitted to have contact with the players off the college campus.

Craven, unhappy that UCLA did not offer a scholarship to his twin brother, Derrick, committed to USC. Williams, spurned by the Bruins, signed a letter of intent with New Mexico.

Bishop Montgomery Coach Doug Mitchell said Thursday that he recalls a brief meeting in his office last year involving Lavin and the Craven twins.

“I don’t even remember exactly what happened,” Mitchell said. “I’m sure if I knew Coach Lavin was coming I told [the twins] Coach was going to be on campus, and they cruised by. It wasn’t anything Coach Lavin asked me to set up.”

Mitchell said the twins stopped by for a couple of minutes during his hourlong meeting with Lavin. He described the contact as a “bump,” which is not considered an NCAA violation if it’s unplanned.

“When you walk by a recruit, you’re allowed to say hello,” Mitchell said.

Williams was contacted by UCLA during his junior year, usually by former assistant coach Michael Holton, according to the Daily News story. Holton, who Wednesday was named coach at the University of Portland, could not be reached for comment.

Dalis said he examined Holton’s office and cellular phone records and could not find evidence of improper contact.

Dalis said he considers the anonymous e-mail an act of extortion. Tellem received it in letter form and was told that the information would be sent to Dalis, the Pac-10, the NCAA and reporters if Lavin was still UCLA’s coach five days after the Bruins were eliminated from the NCAA tournament.

The e-mail also was sent to Peter Blackman, UCLA vice chancellor, and to Betsy Stephenson, associate athletic director.

“We’ve attempted to make contact with these people [who wrote the e-mail] and they won’t come forward,” Dalis said. “It’s kind of like boxing with ghosts.”