Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell stands on the sideline during against Southern California in 2024. Fickell is one of several Badger football coaches named as violators for making 2023 impermissible recruiting phone calls in a NCAA ruling announced Thursday.
Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell stands on the sideline during against Southern California in 2024. Fickell is one of several Badger football coaches named as violators for making 2023 impermissible recruiting phone calls in a NCAA ruling announced Thursday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MADISON — Wisconsin was placed on one yearÃÛèÖÊÓƵ probation and fined $25,000 on Thursday after an NCAA investigation showed that nine coaches and staffers made impermissible phone calls to recruits in 2023.
Former defensive line coach Greg Scruggs and former director of player personnel Max Stienecker received one-year show cause orders. Scruggs is now an assistant defensive line coach for the San Francisco 49ers. Stienecker is Southern CaliforniaÃÛèÖÊÓƵ executive director of personnel.
Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell and outside linebackers/special teams coach Matt Mitchell were prohibited from having recruiting communications with high school prospects from June 15-21. Fickell was determined to have violated head coach responsibility rules.
A Division I Committee on Infractions hearing panel determined that a total of 139 impermissible phone calls were made to 48 prospects. Sixty of the calls lasted one minute or less.
WisconsinÃÛèÖÊÓƵ compliance monitoring systems for phone communications uncovered the violations. The school then reported the violations in September 2023 and immediately self-imposed penalties while collaborating on the investigation with NCAA staff.
All parties determined factors leading to the violations included a new staffÃÛèÖÊÓƵ unfamiliarity with the schoolÃÛèÖÊÓƵ compliance processes along with a misunderstanding of rules pertaining to recruiting calls.
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