UConn is alleged to have committed major NCAA recruiting violations over a two-year period during and after the recruitment of Nate Miles, according to a report from Yahoo.com published early Wednesday morning.
The charges against UConn's men's basketball program are centered on Josh Nochimson, a former professional sports agent who was a student manager for UConn's 1999 national championship team.
The Yahoo account alleges that Nochimson provided Miles with "lodging, transportation, restaurant meals and representation" over a two-year period beginning in November 2006.
Miles enrolled at UConn last fall and was expelled Oct. 2 - having never played or officially practiced for the team - after being charged in Rockville Superior Court with violating a restraining order.
Nochimson, as a UConn alumnus and member of the basketball program, is considered to have violated NCAA rules by being a representative of the school's "athletic interest," the report said. NCAA rules prohibit these designated representatives from any involvement in the recruiting process, and UConn would be liable for any such involvement regardless of the school's knowledge, according to the report.
Tom Moore, an assistant under coach Jim Calhoun from 1995-2007 and now the head coach of Quinnipiac's men's basketball team, told Yahoo that he was aware that Nochimson and Miles were in contact, another potential violation of NCAA rules.
Yahoo's report was released after a six-month investigation which included a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for phone records of UConn coaches.
In a statement released by UConn Wednesday afternoon, the school said it had complied with Yahoo's FOIA request, and that it would review the report "to determine if additional action is required." It went on to say that the university worked with the NCAA to determine that Miles was eligible to play this season.
"The University takes very seriously its responsibilities of NCAA membership, and will do all that is expected to follow up on any information related to possible NCAA rules violations," the statement said.
Records show that Calhoun called Nochimson 16 times before and after Miles' November 2006 verbal commitment to UConn, Yahoo said. Assistants Moore (119 contacts via calls or text messages), Sellers (223 contacts) and Andre LeFleur (54 contacts) also communicated with the agent.
UConn director of basketball operations Beau Archibald - a member of the 1999 championship team who remained friendly with Nochimson after college - exchanged 1,153 telephone and text messages with the agent, the report said.
According to Yahoo, phone records also show that UConn coaches may violated another NCAA rule by exceeding the contact limit for a high school junior. During a player's junior year, the report said, coaches may call a recruit - or his immediate family or guardian - once per month. In December 2006, records obtained by Yahoo show three calls from Moore to Miles, and 27 from Moore to Miles' guardian and a person Miles said was his uncle.
In Glendale, Ariz., at a press conference in advance of UConn's NCAA Tournament regional semifinal against Purdue tonight, Calhoun echoed the school's statement.
"The university is going to look into any matter, as we would when we hear light of something [that] … falls under the guidelines of making sure we are being compliant," Calhoun said.
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