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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) --
The University of Tampa has been placed on one year's probation because its founding coach improperly paid players' tuition and violated recruiting rules.
The NCAA said Tuesday that former women's soccer coach George Fotopoulos, now the coach at LSU, :ass: used his own money and his father's to pay tuition for three players and provided two Swedish recruits improper housing and transportation.
Fotopoulos, a Tampa graduate and former professional player with the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers, was placed on probation until 2003.
His wife, professional soccer player Danielle Fotopoulos of the Carolina Courage and a member of the 1999 women's World Cup team, was banned from involvement with his teams under the NCAA's sanctions.
Fotopoulos declined comment Tuesday through LSU's sports information office.
In addition to being placed on probation, the team also had to stem its recruitment of international students.
The university also crafted a series of reforms for itself and has been implementing them since the investigation began in 1999. It has has heightened compliance monitoring and is now regularly conducting training for coaches.
``It hurts our reputation, which up to this point has been pretty spotless,'' said Gil Swalls, Tampa's associate athletic director. ``We hope we can get through that by making this a better institution.''
The NCAA said Fotopoulos arranged for a $3,500 payment from his father to one student to help her pay tuition and fees at the private university in 1998. A year later, Fotopoulos paid another $1,500 to two students and then another $200 to one of those students. A year after leaving Tampa in 1999 he paid yet another $3,000 to the latter two students.
The money was needed because the students had come up short in their financial aid packages. Investigators said Fotopoulos provided the money directly to the students instead of through an established fund for such needs, because it would have taken too long.
When he was later confronted about the payments, Fotopoulos initially lied about them, the school said.
``He short-cut the system -- he gave the girls the cash and told them to go pay their bill,'' Swalls said. ``He was a new coach and a fairly young coach and it was his first college job.''
The NCAA also found violations in Fotopoulos' recruiting of two Swedish soccer players. They were provided housing and transportation, in violation of NCAA rules.
:cap::glasses:
The University of Tampa has been placed on one year's probation because its founding coach improperly paid players' tuition and violated recruiting rules.
The NCAA said Tuesday that former women's soccer coach George Fotopoulos, now the coach at LSU, :ass: used his own money and his father's to pay tuition for three players and provided two Swedish recruits improper housing and transportation.
Fotopoulos, a Tampa graduate and former professional player with the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers, was placed on probation until 2003.
His wife, professional soccer player Danielle Fotopoulos of the Carolina Courage and a member of the 1999 women's World Cup team, was banned from involvement with his teams under the NCAA's sanctions.
Fotopoulos declined comment Tuesday through LSU's sports information office.
In addition to being placed on probation, the team also had to stem its recruitment of international students.
The university also crafted a series of reforms for itself and has been implementing them since the investigation began in 1999. It has has heightened compliance monitoring and is now regularly conducting training for coaches.
``It hurts our reputation, which up to this point has been pretty spotless,'' said Gil Swalls, Tampa's associate athletic director. ``We hope we can get through that by making this a better institution.''
The NCAA said Fotopoulos arranged for a $3,500 payment from his father to one student to help her pay tuition and fees at the private university in 1998. A year later, Fotopoulos paid another $1,500 to two students and then another $200 to one of those students. A year after leaving Tampa in 1999 he paid yet another $3,000 to the latter two students.
The money was needed because the students had come up short in their financial aid packages. Investigators said Fotopoulos provided the money directly to the students instead of through an established fund for such needs, because it would have taken too long.
When he was later confronted about the payments, Fotopoulos initially lied about them, the school said.
``He short-cut the system -- he gave the girls the cash and told them to go pay their bill,'' Swalls said. ``He was a new coach and a fairly young coach and it was his first college job.''
The NCAA also found violations in Fotopoulos' recruiting of two Swedish soccer players. They were provided housing and transportation, in violation of NCAA rules.
:cap::glasses:
