Gophers Football Coach Receives Letter of Admonishment for Secondary NCAA Violations

Gophers football coach Tim Brewster received a letter of admonishment from athletic director Joel Maturi after the University of Minnesota reported three secondary rules violations to the NCAA. According to records obtained by the Star Tribune, the violations were minor and occurred in fall 2007 when Brewster responded to text messages from prospective student-athletes. The university's report led to Maturi issuing the letter of admonishment, a standard response to a secondary violation. Maturi emphasized that the university's policy is to report all violations, unlike some schools that may not report everything.

Key Takeaways:

• The University of Minnesota reported three secondary NCAA rules violations involving Gophers football coach Tim Brewster's text messages to prospective student-athletes in fall 2007.
• The violations occurred between Aug. 29, 2007, and Nov. 30, 2007, and involved two of the three student-athletes involved ultimately signing national letters of intent to play for the Gophers.
• The letter of admonishment was a standard response to the secondary violation and was issued by athletic director Joel Maturi.
• The university has averaged 30 some secondary violations a year since Maturi became athletic director.
• The text messages in question included responding to a wish for good luck in an upcoming contest and a message indicating a prospective student-athlete would attend another school.
• The NCAA rules prohibit coaches from initiating contact with prospective student-athletes during certain periods of the year.

Statistics:

• 3 secondary NCAA rules violations were reported by the University of Minnesota involving Gophers football coach Tim Brewster's text messages.
• 2 of the 3 student-athletes involved ultimately signed national letters of intent to play for the Gophers.
• 30+ secondary violations were reported to the NCAA by the University of Minnesota per year under athletic director Joel Maturi.
• 1 text message was sent to wish coach Brewster good luck in an upcoming contest.
• 1 text message was sent indicating a prospective student-athlete would attend another school.
• 2 text messages were sent by coach Brewster in response to the above messages, which violated NCAA rules.

Sources:

• "Gophers football coach receives letter of admonishment." Star Tribune. Kent Youngblood, Staff writer