Over the last two weeks, I have referenced that Will Lyles may have provided extra benefits to athletes with whom he had a "mentoring" relationship.
This week Yahoo Sports released details of a specific extra benefit Seastrunk received through Lyles in the form of $1500 worth of plane tickets for he and his mother to visit Tennessee unofficially.
For those unsure, an athlete (football) may not make an official visit to any university prior to his first day of school as a senior in high school. He may visit a campus as many times as he pleases, but must pay for the trip out of his own pocket. The university may not pay for any family member to make a trip with the athlete, this includes both unofficial and official visits.
This most recent revelation is a clear and blatant violation of NCAA rules.
However, there is more here than meets the eye.
Oregon knew about extra benefits
What has not been made public, until now, is that Oregon was aware of the benefits prior to Seastrunk's transfer and had already taken corrective action. According to a source familiar with Seastrunk and the athletic department, Seastrunk was told by Tim Bruegman, Academic Coordinator for Football, that "in order to be reinstated he [Seastrunk] will have to pay back 2 for 1 for any "improper" benefits provided by Lyles....ie: rides, meals, etc."
The key word in that statement is 'reinstated.' In order for an athlete to be reinstated, he must first have been ruled ineligible. Oregon knew about the benefits Seastrunk received long before Lyles told the NCAA about them. The Compliance Department had discovered the violations through their own internal investigation and were working with Seastrunk and the NCAA to clear Seastrunk and get him reinstated.
When contacted for statement, the University of Oregon athletic department declined comment. Citing their policy during the current NCAA investigation and FERPA laws in a statement the Oregon Athletic Department said "both NCAA investigation policy and FERPA would prevent the institution from confirming or denying any specifics regarding Lache's eligibility while he was a student here." Sources inside the athletic department did confirm, however, that "NCAA reinstatement guidelines only seek to put student-athletes back in the position they were in prior to receiving the impermissible benefit, not to punish the student-athlete. Therefore, the donation to charity requirement is $1 for $1."
The NCAA has been pretty standard, recently, on the punishment for athletes who accept extra benefits from "mentors." The athlete must pay back the amount of the extra benefits to a charity and serve a four game suspension. Both Sharif Floyd of Florida and Damiere Byrd of South Carolina were given the same initial punishment. Floyd's suspension was later reduced to two games due to extenuating circumstances surrounding his acceptance of money from a mentoring foundation.
The "2-for-1" payback was a misinterpretation of family and friends. NCAA guidelines are clear that the money is to be paid to charity on a $1 for $1 basis. It appears Oregon was working with Seastrunk to minimize the suspension time and restore his eligibility before his transfer. This would also explain the lack of reps that Seastrunk was receiving in practices leading up to his transfer request.
