Text messages and phone calls to prospective recruits have landed Central Florida -- the university, not the geographic area -- in the NCAA’s Land of Sanctions, UCF officials announced this afternoon.
According to the press release, the NCAA found that members of the UCF football program had sent “about 100" text messages and made “at least 209 impermissible telephone calls” between June of 2007 and February of 2008.
The school self-reported the violations after they were uncovered in March of 2008.
As a result of the violations, UCF will be placed on probation for a period of two years. Additionally, they were hit with recruiting restriction, a penalty that was served between 2008 and 2010. The two former employees who committed the violations -- the individuals were not named -- were hit with a two-week suspension at their current place of employment.
On the positive side, there were no limitations or restrictions placed on the school’s ability to participate in the postseason.
“The violations that took place are extremely disappointing to me,” said head coach George O’Leary in a statement. “We run a first-class program and there is no place for this behavior at UCF. I want our fans to know that we acted immediately when we learned about what was going on and worked with the NCAA from the start.”
