NCAA Places UCLA Football on "Proactive Probation"

LOS ANGELES – The NCAA announced on Monday that the UCLA football program was the first-ever school to be placed on “proactive probation,” following the Bruins’ hiring of former Colorado and Washington head coach Rick Neuheisel.

“In light of the multiple recruiting violations and lack of institutional control that will surely occur at UCLA within the next 12 months, we’ve decided to take action in advance and issue our punishment now,” said an official statement from the NCAA.

The statement from the NCAA including a laundry list of infractions that Neuheisel – who had a checkered past at both of his previous head coaching jobs – will “possibly to probably” commit in 2008. Included on the list:

• Exceeding number of recruiting visits
• Illegal contact with boosters
• Illegal contact with parents of potential recruits
• Illegal contact with hot sisters of potential recruits
• Sneaking underage recruits into NC-17 movies
• Larceny
• Participating in an underground street racing organization
• Wire-tapping Pete Carroll’s personal phone
• Selling graduate assistants into white slavery
• Taking the team out for ice cream after a tough loss

The punishment includes the loss of five scholarships over the 2008 season and a reduction in recruiting trips. UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero said that while they were unaware that the NCAA had the authority to issue punishment in advance of any infractions, they accepted the decision.

“Frankly, we knew this was a possibility the day we hired Coach Neuheisel, but we just didn’t know it would happen literally the day after we hired him,” Guerrero said. “At least this way we can plan ahead instead of waiting for after the season to find out what the punishment would be.”

Posted by The Duke of Everything at 12:34 AM