According to an NCAA announcement, the Fredonia men’s hockey head coach (Jeff Meredith, whose name was not formally used in the announcement) committed NCAA violations when he used a physical education course to engage in off-ice conditioning with student-athletes before the first permissible practice date, according to a decision released by the Division III Committee on Infractions.
The NCAA enforcement staff, the university and the head coach agreed that during three academic years, the head coach taught an advanced conditioning course — consisting of ice hockey dry-land training exercises — that was almost entirely composed of men’s ice hockey student-athletes. Approximately 93 percent of the enrolled students were members of the men’s ice hockey team. Meredith encouraged men’s ice hockey student-athletes to enroll in the course and, in some cases, student-athletes who were not enrolled in the course also participated in class sessions.
The classes violated NCAA rules because they occurred outside the established playing season, specifically before the first permissible practice date. Participation in the classes resulted in student-athletes participating in impermissible athletically related activity. Further, because the classes occurred before the season, at least 25 of the student-athletes who participated had not undergone a required medical examination or evaluation — also a violation of NCAA rules.
The head coach received approval to teach the course in 1988 when he arrived at Fredonia but did not check with the compliance department about whether the class remained permissible. The coach acknowledged that he used the course to better prepare men’s ice hockey student-athletes for the playing and practice season. The parties agreed that while the head coach was not aware that the classes violated NCAA rules, he committed a head coach responsibility violation as a result of his direct involvement in the violations, which demonstrated that he failed to promote an atmosphere for compliance.
This case was resolved through the cooperative summary disposition process, in which involved parties collectively submit the case to the committee in written form. All participating parties must agree to the facts of the case for this process to be used instead of a formal hearing.
The committee prescribed the following penalties and corrective measures:
— Two years of probation.
— A $1,500 fine.
— A one-year show-cause order for the men’s ice hockey head coach. During that period, any NCAA member school employing him shall:
— Suspend the head coach for three months (May 22 through Aug. 22, 2022) from all ice hockey-related activities, including recruiting, alumni events and administration interaction with the team.
— Require the head coach to attend the NCAA Regional Rules Seminar in summer 2022.
— Prohibit the head coach from hosting or participating in any youth ice hockey camps from August through December 2022.
— A delay of the start of the men’s ice hockey season by one week for the 2022-23 season (self-imposed by the university).
— A defined review by the university of all courses taught by athletics department staff members (self-imposed by the university).
— A prohibition of the head coach teaching any courses at Fredonia (self-imposed by the university).
Members of the Committee on Infractions are drawn from NCAA member schools and conferences and members of the public. The committee members who reviewed this case are Sarah Feyerherm, vice president of student affairs and dean of students at Washington College and chair for the committee; Richard Lapidus, president of Fitchburg State; Donna Ledwin, commissioner of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference; Jody Mooradian, athletics director at Salve Regina and vice chair of the committee; and Angela Givens Williams, chief of the civil division in the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of Mississippi.
