UCF Submits Response To NCAA Investigation

The University of Central Florida is currently under investigation by the NCAA for recruiting violations, which has led to the resignation of their athletic director. On Monday afternoon, UCF issued response to the NCAA investigation, including imposing some of their own penalties.

"We are cooperating fully with the NCAA and addressing these issues in a responsible manner," Interim Director of Athletics Al Harms said via a press release by the university. "UCF is on the path to rebuilding a strong ‘culture of compliance' that is consistent with our high standards of professional and personal conduct and our responsibilities to the NCAA."

UCF instituted their own penalties while the NCAA investigation is still on-going in the hopes of lightening the blow. The penalties include reductions in financial aid awards for men's basketball, the vacation of wins from prior men's basketball seasons, financial penalties, prohibition of televised appearances, and a reduction in recruiting days for football and men's basketball.

For more on the UCF recruitment scandal and its aftermath, see our Storystream coverage.

UCF Announces New Athletic Director

UCF is set to hire a new athletic director who will have to hit the ground running.

A.J. Rompza To Be Reinstated Following UCF Scandal

In the aftermath of the UCF recruitment scandal, the only player affected was UCF senior point guard A.J. Rompza. As the NCAA alleged that he had been in contact and received money from unofficial recruiter/booster Ken Caldwell, Rompza was suspended from play for the time being while the NCAA determined the penalty he must face.

The final verdict was just released, and it appears that Rompza has gotten off relatively easily:

The NCAA has ruled UCF senior guard A.J. Rompza will be eligible to resume competition on Dec. 30 once he repays $900 in improper benefits. (Orlando Sentinel)

While Rompza will miss a large portion of the NCAA basketball season, the monetary "benefits" he received were apparently rather small. Nine-hundred dollars can seem like a lot of money to college students, but considering the sort of benefits that players at Miami were receiving until recently, this fine seems like peanuts in comparison.

For more on the UCF recruitment scandal and its aftermath, see our Storystream coverage.

UCF Vs. East Carolina Game Time, TV Schedule And More

The UCF Knights (4-6, 4-2 CUSA) head to Greenville, NC Saturday evening to take on the East Carolina Pirates (4-6, 3-3 CUSA) in a late-season conference showdown.

Central Florida has lost two straight games and four of their last five, including a one point defeat last week at the hands of Conference USA's East Division leader Southern Mississippi.

East Carolina is also riding a two game losing streak. The Pirates have dominated the all-time series between the two schools, taking eight of ten matchups. 

Both teams need to win this game and their regular season finale to be bowl eligible, so expected a heated battle Saturday night in Greenville.

Here are all the details you need about this evening's Knights vs. Pirates matchup:

Game date, time: 7:00 pm ET, Saturday, November 19th

Location:  Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, Greenville, North Carolina

TV channel: Fox Sports Network

Spread: UCF favored by 7

Series history: East Carolina leads 8-2

For further reading, news, discussion and more on UCF, visit SB Nation Tampa. Here's the complete Week 12 college football TV schedule, and stay tuned to SB Nation's college football news hub for more.

UCF Scandal: Fortuitous Timing For The Knights?

Full Report of NCAA Allegations against UCF

The full report can be found here. The allegations raised against the University of Central Florida are as follows:

1. Two people representing a professional sports agency assisted UCF in recruiting six men's basketball and five football prospective student-athletes by promoting the institution's athletic programs.
2. One of those people, Ken Caldwell provided impermissible benefits to men's basketball and football student-athletes and prospective student-athletes.
3. Athletic Director and a program booster attempted to arrange employment in the UCF area for a parent or guardian of a potential student-athlete.
4. The Athletic Director, Keith Tribble, arranged for UCF to provide an extra benefit to a friend of Ken Caldwell in the form of an out-of-state tuition fee waiver.
5. Keith Tribble attempted to provide an improper inducement to the mother of a prospective athlete and false information to the UCF compliance enforcement staff regarding the relationship with Ken Caldwell and his associate.
6. Assistant Head Coach and Wide Receivers Coach David Kelly knowingly provided false information to the UCF compliance enforcement staff regarding the relationship with Ken Caldwell and his associate.
7. Mens' Basketball Head Coach Donnie Jones failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance within the basketball program. 
8. Keith Tribble failed to exercise institutional control and monitoring in the conduct and administration of its athletic programs.

UCF Recruitment Scandal: Keith Tribble, David Kelly Resigned; Donnie Jones Suspended

UCF President John Hitt is holding a press conference concerning the NCAA investigation into the Central Florida Knights’ recruiting practices, and so far, this doesn’t look good. The NCAA has released a 16-page “notice of allegations” detailing the charges against UCF, and judging from the snippets available so far, the Knights could be in for trouble:

It is alleged between March 2009 and July 2011, Ken Caldwell, a recruiter for a professional sports agency, and Brandon Bender, an associate of Caldwell’s, assisted the institution in recruitment of six men’s basketball and five football prospective student-athletes by promoting the institution’s athletics programs. … Certain institutional staff members were aware of Caldwell’s and Bender’s activities while others involved Caldwell and Bender in the recruitment of specific prospective student athletes. (Orlando Sentinel)

The Knights have already announced that Athletic Director Keith Tribble and receivers coach (and top recruiter) David Kelly have resigned, and that head basketball coach Donnie Jones will be suspended for three conference games without pay. The university is hoping to impose sanction on itself and has already announced some internal changes to prevent events like this from occurring again, like having their compliance officer report directly to a university representative and the director of athletics.

Although not mentioned during the press conference, it’s rumored that there will also be player suspensions as a result of this investigation. At the moment, the only player being suspended for allegations is A.J. Rompza, but Jeremy Garrison (NBC Sports) suggests that there may be more to come:

More #UCF fallout to come…at least 5 basketball players will be suspended for failed drug tests/accepting gifts. Both Jordan sons involved

Al Harms has been named the interim Athletic Director while they search for a replacement for Tribble. President Hittdoes not believe this investigation will slow down their move into the Big East, which could be completed within a week.

For more as it develops, follow along with our Storystream coverage of this story.

UCF Athletic Director Keith Tribble To Step Down Amid Investigation

As a result of an NCAA investigation into their recruiting practices, the UCF Knights are expected to announce soon that their athletic director, Keith Tribble, is stepping down.