For the first time since the NCAA began its investigation back in September, the Oregon athletic department has acknowledged violations of NCAA recruiting rules, according to The Register-Guard.
A new batch of documents was released late Friday afternoon in response to public records requests, and in it Oregon officials “agreed that from 2008 through 2011, the scope and nature of the violations … demonstrate that the athletics department failed to adequately monitor the football program’s use of recruiting or scouting services.” The Ducks, according to the documents, admitted to using three scouting services that did not fall under NCAA guidelines and to surpassing the permissible amount of coaches deployed on the recruiting trail at a given time. The Register-Guards’ Adam Jude also reported that Oregon spent a total of $45,245 on those three scouting services.
Much of the document’s contents were redacted, and Jude reported that in a letter to supporters, Oregon Athletic Director Rob Mullens claimed “student information protected by law” was the cause for the redactions.
As of today, Oregon has not been handed a formal Notice of Allegations from the NCAA, and it remains unclear if or when that will happen.