Athletics

NCAA: Probation for discounts
The university has been placed on probation for five years and reductions have been made in grants-in-aid in football and men’s basketball for violations of NCAA legislation governing extra benefits, recruiting inducements and the institution’s failure to monitor its athletics program.

The NCAA infractions committee reported these findings by teleconference to media gathered at the Kohl Center. UW administrators answered questions following the announcement on Oct. 2.

The NCAA’s Division I Committee on Infractions also required that the university disassociate the representative of the university’s athletics interests involved in many of the violations for a period of seven years or show cause why it should not be penalized further.

“I am very disappointed by the NCAA’s additional reductions in the number of athletic scholarships, especially for our football program,” Chancellor John Wiley says. “While it is true that these judgments are within the NCAA legislation, they are, in the end, subjective in nature. We obviously believed that the loss of scholarships that we imposed was sufficient punishment. The NCAA clearly disagreed.”

Wiley says the university will not appeal the ruling. “Rather, we will pay our penalties, and we have put systems in place to make sure they won’t happen again,” Wiley says. “I continue to have confidence in the Athletic Department and its leadership team, and look forward to putting this case behind us. ”

The Athletics Department has posted more details, including audio, at its Web site: http://www.uwbadgers.com

Athletics tightens security
In light of the Sept. 11 tragedy, the university is making necessary adjustments for home sporting events.

Additional security measures will be in place for football games. As such, fans should anticipate needing extra time to enter Camp Randall Stadium and should arrive earlier than normal.

Fans will be prohibited from bringing into Camp Randall Stadium any carry-in items, including backpacks, coolers, thermoses or bags. Purses, fanny packs or similar items will be subject to inspection.

Hoops player unable to play
Latrell Fleming, a freshman with the Badger men’s basketball team, will not be able to compete at Wisconsin due hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disorder of the heart muscle that is generally characterized by enlargement of the heart muscle and a thickening of the walls of the left ventricle.

Fleming, a guard from Milwaukee, can remain on full scholarship for up to five years (per NCAA rules) and can remain a part of the Badger basketball program as an undergraduate student assistant coach.

Teams are nationally ranked
The Wisconsin volleyball team moved up two spots to seventh in the USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Coaches poll released Sept. 24.

The University of Wisconsin women’s cross country team is ranked fifth in the first regular season FinishLynx/ NCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country poll released Sept. 24.

The Badger men’s cross country team remained at sixth.

Football home games sold out
All remaining home football games for this season are sold out. Contact the UW Athletic Ticket Office, 262-1440, to see if any tickets have been returned by the visiting team for remaining games.