Seat upgrades nets minor NCAA violation at Iowa

IOWA CITY - Parents of two Iowa men's basketball players each were instructed to pay $17 to a charity of their choice or their sons would be withheld from competition as part of a seat upgrade during a game at Carver Hawkeye Arena last month.

According to documents provided by university officials to The Gazette via state open-records laws, two athletes' fathers were approached by 'two representatives of athletics interests” during pregame warm-ups before Iowa's Nov. 24 game against Pepperdine. Those representatives then invited the fathers to sit in their unused courtside seats during the game, and the fathers accepted. A member of Iowa's compliance staff noticed the parents sitting with the boosters and brought it to the staff's attention the next day.

The players' parents had tickets as part of their sons' pass list. The players would not be allowed to compete again until their families donated $17 to a charity of their choice and sent in a receipt to university officials. Lyla Clerry, Iowa's associate athletics director for compliance, said the $17 value was based on the price of one basketball ticket that day.

All of the names - including those of the boosters - were redacted from the report and accompanying correspondence by the University of Iowa based on the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

The incident was considered a level III NCAA violation, the lowest level of infraction. The parents, athletes and boosters were then required to receive additional training regarding impermissible benefits.

Monday, the NCAA ruled that no further action be taken.

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