The NCAA dropped its proverbial hammer again on Wednesday, this time on Chadron State College, saying the small Division II school in Nebraska “lacked institutional control” over its athletic department.
The Division II Committee on Infractions found that the former football coach, Bill O’Boyle, did not follow NCAA ethical conduct rules by maintaining outside bank accounts for the football program, providing extra benefits to student-athletes and providing false or misleading information during interviews with the school, according to the NCAA release.
As a result, the university will face three years of probation, vacation of wins for 2011 and 2012 football seasons due to the participation of an ineligible player, and two-year show-cause orders for O’Boyle and former athletic director Brad Smith, who recently retired.
The majority of the penalties stem from a bank account opened by O’Boyle for the football program’s golf tournament in 2009 without the permission of the college’s president. O’Boyle used the account for football-related and personal expenses, including recruiting trips and paying for a traffic ticket. O’Boyle also maintained two other bank accounts “to pay concession workers and for recruiting expenses.”
O’Boyle also “gave a student-athlete $150 to settle a school bill” and “provided $100 to a student-athlete so he could purchase health insurance,” then “provided false or misleading information about the existence of two of the three outside bank accounts to the school” despite knowing that these actions were against NCAA rules.
Smith, the former AD, “failed to monitor and adequately track the approximately $30,000 raised by the golf tournaments,” the release said.
The full list of penalties for the violations include:

  • Public reprimand and censure.
  • Three years of probation from November 6, 2013 through November 5, 2016.
  • A $5,000 fine.
  • A vacation of results for the football program for the 2011 and 2012 football seasons. The public report contains further details.
  • A two-year show cause order for the former head coach. During this period, the committee restricts athletically-related duties of the former head coach at his current NCAA school, as detailed by his current employing school. The public report contains the further details.
  • A two-year show cause order for the former director of athletics. During this period, the committee restricts athletically related duties of the former director of athletics should he be employed by an NCAA school.
  • A reduction of paid official visits by 15 for the football program, from 75 to 60, for the 2013-14 academic year (self-imposed by the school).
  • Withholding of one full-time coach from recruiting off-campus for the spring and fall 2013 recruiting periods (self-imposed by the school).
  • An external audit of the school’s athletics program will be conducted (self-imposed by the school).