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Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer and athletic director Gene Smith acknowledged having committed secondary NCAA violations in recent months, according to a report in The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer.
The ancillary errors by Meyer and Smith are part of 46 secondary violations in 21 Ohio State sports reported since last May 30. The Plain Dealer obtained the list of violations through an open records request.
Meyer is reported to have said "good luck" to football recruit Noah Spence at a Dec. 16 high school game, violating NCAA rules prohibiting direct contact with recruits during competition. Spence, the nation's No. 4 recruit overall and No. 2-rated defensive end in the ESPNU 150, committed to Ohio State during an official visit to campus days after the game and signed with the Buckeyes in February.
Ohio State learned of the contact through a newspaper photo that showed Meyer apparently talking to Spence. Meyer informed Ohio State of the contact two days after the game.
"I went to say 'hello' and 'good luck' to his coach and as I was walking off the field Noah said, 'hello,' and I said 'good luck,' before the game," Meyer wrote in a text message to The Plain Dealer. "Nothing more. Nothing to hide. All good."
Smith and alumni association CEO Archie Griffin, a former star running back for the Buckeyes, recorded a personalized video for football recruit Ezekiel Elliott for his official visit to Ohio State on March 31. Recruiting videos are prohibited by the NCAA. Elliott verbally committed to Ohio State as part of the 2013 recruiting class.
Other secondary violations included text messages sent by current assistant Stan Drayton and former assistant Dick Tressel to a recruit and the parents of a recruit, respectively.
Ohio State's only major violations in football since May 30, 2011 involved players being overpaid for work by former booster Bobby DiGeronimo. Those violations, along with others committed by players and former coach Jim Tressel during the tattoo/merchandise scandal, led to Ohio State losing scholarships and receiving a one-year postseason ban from the NCAA for the 2012 season.
The ancillary errors by Meyer and Smith are part of 46 secondary violations in 21 Ohio State sports reported since last May 30. The Plain Dealer obtained the list of violations through an open records request.
Meyer is reported to have said "good luck" to football recruit Noah Spence at a Dec. 16 high school game, violating NCAA rules prohibiting direct contact with recruits during competition. Spence, the nation's No. 4 recruit overall and No. 2-rated defensive end in the ESPNU 150, committed to Ohio State during an official visit to campus days after the game and signed with the Buckeyes in February.
Ohio State learned of the contact through a newspaper photo that showed Meyer apparently talking to Spence. Meyer informed Ohio State of the contact two days after the game.
"I went to say 'hello' and 'good luck' to his coach and as I was walking off the field Noah said, 'hello,' and I said 'good luck,' before the game," Meyer wrote in a text message to The Plain Dealer. "Nothing more. Nothing to hide. All good."
Smith and alumni association CEO Archie Griffin, a former star running back for the Buckeyes, recorded a personalized video for football recruit Ezekiel Elliott for his official visit to Ohio State on March 31. Recruiting videos are prohibited by the NCAA. Elliott verbally committed to Ohio State as part of the 2013 recruiting class.
Other secondary violations included text messages sent by current assistant Stan Drayton and former assistant Dick Tressel to a recruit and the parents of a recruit, respectively.
Ohio State's only major violations in football since May 30, 2011 involved players being overpaid for work by former booster Bobby DiGeronimo. Those violations, along with others committed by players and former coach Jim Tressel during the tattoo/merchandise scandal, led to Ohio State losing scholarships and receiving a one-year postseason ban from the NCAA for the 2012 season.
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