The University of Oregon released 246 pages of new documents Friday that disclose more details about the 27-month investigation of the school’s football program by the NCAA.
The NCAA’s findings were made public June 26 when Oregon suffered minor sanctions on recruiting and scholarship numbers for the next two seasons mainly due to the school’s relationship with Willie Lyles. Lyles, who was designated as a booster for the Ducks, stepped beyond the role of a typical scouting service operator, violating NCAA rules. One of the violations the NCAA discovered was the giving of gifts to players.
The school had the option to file an appeal on the rulings, but not surprisingly decided to let that deadline pass according to UO spokesman Craig Pintens.
The documents Oregon released don’t shed any surprising news beyond what has already been made public, but they do include a redacted version of Oregon’s full response to the NCAA allegations. They also reveal why the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions rejected the school’s attempt at a “summary disposition” plea bargain in favor of a full hearing.
In the documents is also a letter from the NCAA committee to UO’s attorney, Mike Glazier, stating why they decided on a full hearing. The reasons all are focused on why the school was unable to control the situation as well as why only certain staff members were disciplined.
All of the reasons were covered by the university before the hearing. The conclusion reached was that Lyles had become an inadvertent representative of Oregon’s interests, that the school had failed to monitor their multiple scouting services and that they had failed to educate their staff on the use of phone calls. Oregon went on to state that the school complied as much as possible with the NCAA and stayed in regular contact during the disposition process.
There were several pages that were completely redacted which may have been responses to allegations that involved specific individuals.
Just as it had in its summary disposition proposal, the university acknowledged the mistakes which led to violations. The school went on to reaffirm its goal in operating within the NCAA rules.