NCAA opens new probe of Southeast

The NCAA again is investigating the Southeast Missouri State University athletics program, this time following up on new information relating to the men's basketball program.

On Tuesday, the university acknowledged receiving a letter from David Price, vice president of enforcement for the NCAA, informing the school of the beginning of the new probe.

Sources told the Southeast Missourian that the latest NCAA probe centers on the Southeast men's basketball program under coach Scott Edgar, who took over after former coach Gary Garner's contract was not renewed following the 2005-2006 season.

Tuesday's release by the university included the following statement from Southeast president Dr. Ken Dobbins: "Since there is an ongoing NCAA investigation, the university and its employees will have no further comment unless the NCAA issues a letter of allegations."

Reached by telephone, Edgar said he would have no comment on the situation.

Southeast athletic director Don Kaverman did not return a message left on his mobile phone. Ohio Valley Conference commissioner Dr. Jon A. Steinbrecher declined to comment through an OVC spokesman.

The letter the university received, dated Aug. 4, said information that was developed between April, when university officials made an appearance before the NCAA Committee on Infractions, and June, when the committee released its report on the previous infractions, led to the new investigation.

That report concluded a 29-month process that began in January 2006 with allegations about the women's basketball program.

The investigation found a number of violations -- mostly related to inappropriate travel, inappropriate lodging and insufficient monitoring of the program's summer activities -- during the four-year stint of former coach B.J. Smith.

The penalties included reduction of scholarships for one year, reduction of recruiting days and vacating the program's records for Smith's last two seasons, 2004-2005 and the 2005-2006 Ohio Valley Conference championship season that resulted in the program's first NCAA Division I tournament appearance.

As part of the penalties, Southeast's entire athletics department was placed on two years' probation, although all of the university's intercollegiate teams remain eligible for postseason competition.

The investigation also included violations in the men's program under former coach Garner centering around the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons.

Those violations involved the university's payment of travel costs for three student-athletes who had transferred and were not eligible to compete but were permitted by Garner to travel to away games during that two-year period.

Southeast paid a fine of about $12,600, double the amount of the costs paid for the athletes to travel, under a recommended self-imposed sanction.

Tuesday's release from Southeast also said the university received a case study of the incident because Garner is disputing the NCAA Committee on Infractions' ruling that this is a major incident.

Garner, who served as Southeast's coach for nine seasons from 1997-1998 through 2005-2006, said that, on the advice of his legal counsel, he was not at liberty to say much.

"It's true I have disputed those violations being major," Garner said from Des Moines, Iowa, where he is an assistant coach with the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League. "But that's all I can say right now."

Garner led the Southeast men's basketball program to its only NCAA Division I tournament appearance, in 1999-2000.

mmishow@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 132

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