BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. — The NCAA placed Gardner-Webb University on probation for three years for multiple violations, including a lack of institutional control. The penalty, announced March 4, was imposed for violations concerning athletic recruiting, academic eligibility, extra benefits, ethical conduct and institutional control. The incident was Gardner-Webb’s first major infraction.
The NCAA began investigating Gardner-Webb after reports that Carlos Webb, a star basketball player, had his grades changed in 2000 to make him eligible to play. Thomas Yeager, chair of the infractions committee and commissioner of the Colonial Athletic Association, said the NCAA first learned of possible infractions at Gardner-Webb from a confidential source in April 2002.
Chris White, then president of Gardner-Webb, resigned in October 2002 over his part in the controversy. White had ordered the registrar to recalculate the player’s grades, saying the player had received bad advice that led him to believe he was eligible to play. Yeager said White’s order amounted to an “extra benefit” for an athlete.
Gardner-Webb has voluntarily given up the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association championship it won the year Webb was made eligible to play.
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