Lane Kiffin won’t be penalized for Tennessee actions, NCAA says
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
The NCAA’s Committee on Infractions announced Wednesday that USC football coach Lane Kiffin did not commit major infractions during his short stay at Tennessee and that he would not be penalized.
‘The committee concluded that the evidence was insufficient to support findings of major violations,’ the infractions report said. ‘However, the committee was troubled by the number and nature of the secondary infractions by the football coaching staff during its one-year tenure at the institution.
‘From January 2009 through October 2009 the staff committed 12 violations, all connected to recruiting. Some of the violations received nationwide publicity and brought the football program into public controversy. This is not a record of which to be proud. Nevertheless, because the violations individually were secondary and most were isolated, the committee, in the end, determined not to make a finding of a major violation.’
Kiffin could not immediately be reached for comment.
Kiffin appeared before the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions in June as part of a broader hearing into Tennessee’s athletic department.
The NCAA announced Wednesday that former basketball coach Bruce Pearl received a three-year show-cause order and each of his three former assistant coaches received one-year show cause orders for major violations.
The NCAA had alleged that Tennessee football staff members made 16 impermissible phone calls to recruits from Jan. 3 to Jan. 9, 2010 — calls that were made a month after the staff was informed they were impermissible.
Kiffin also was accused of allowing a recruiting intern to make impermissible off-campus contact with high school staff members after Tennessee’s director of football operations told him that the intern was not permitted to enter a high school’s property while accompanying a coach on a recruiting trip.
More later at latimes.com/sports.
ALSO:
Several positions up for grabs at USC
Return of Robert Woods energizes the offense
Understudy Trojans quarterbacks wait for their chance
-- Gary Klein