Timeline of NCAA violations by the SEMO women's basketball program

A timeline of events related to Southeast Missouri State's investigation into NCAA violations committed by the women's basketball team and the Southeast Missourian's reporting on the investigation.

July: Irregularities were found in an assistant coach's phone and text messaging logs during a routine series of checks by the university's athletic department's compliance officers. Head coach Ty Margenthaler and an assistant coach were ordered to suspend a recruiting trip and return to campus immediately. The assistant coach was placed on administrative leave and resigned about a week later, said assistant athletic director for compliance Rachel Blunt. The university does not typically announce the departure of assistant coaches and did not in this case.

September: The university, which had been in contact with NCAA officials throughout its investigation, submitted a final report to the NCAA outlining the violations and self-imposed sanctions.

Nov. 5: The athletic department issued a news release saying Margenthaler was suspended for the first two games of the season "due to violations of athletic department policies and procedures." Margenthaler did not coach in the team's exhibition game Nov. 6 or its season-opener Nov. 14. Additional discipline was not disclosed. A text message to a reporter from a member of the university's sports information department said there would be "no further comment" from anyone in the department beyond the news release.

Nov. 5: The Southeast Missourian filed a Freedom of Information Act request in the afternoon seeking documents and recordings related to the investigation. Brady Barke, the senior associate to the president and custodian of records for the university, provided the following details via email in response: "Our institution recently self-reported violations involving members of the women's basketball coaching staff. The self-reported violations are still being reviewed by the NCAA, and, therefore, in order to protect the integrity of the process, specific details may not be shared publicly at this time. However, in an effort to provide you with what information we are allowed to share, the activities that occurred which resulted in our decision to self-report violations involved impermissible off-campus recruiting contacts and impermissible recruiting inducements by the women's basketball coaching staff."

Nov. 17: Margenthaler returned from his suspension to lead the team for the first time this season.

Dec. 3: After additional research, the Southeast Missourian submitted a second, more detailed FOIA request.

Dec. 8: The NCAA assigned a member of its enforcement staff to review the case. The university said there is no timeline for when the review will be completed.

Dec. 9: Barke and university president Kenneth W. Dobbins met with Southeast Missourian editors. The university officials said it would cost $2,900 to fulfill the newspaper's records request but offered to supply a university report detailing the violations and the university's actions at no cost. Both officials stressed the importance of investigating all potential violations and that they believed their internal controls worked to quickly identify the violations, which they hoped the NCAA would view as minor.

Dec. 10: The report was sent to the Southeast Missourian, revealing additional details about the violations and additional self-imposed sanctions, including a reduced number of recruiting days and an additional suspension without pay for Margenthaler.

Dec. 11: Southeast's assistant athletic director for compliance, Rachel Blunt, said the violations could be considered Level II, or more serious, because there were multiple instances and the assistant coaches knew he was committing violations and did not report them.

Dec. 12: After additional questions from the Southeast Missourian, Barke said in an email the university's top law enforcement officer was involved in the investigation to determine whether any laws had been broken regarding the relationship between the assistant and the recruit, whom Barke said was a minor. The investigation found there was "not sufficient evidence to suggest" any laws were broken.

-- Compiled by the Southeast Missourian