UMass Women's Tennis Punished for Phone Jack

Misbar has learned that recent news about the UMass women’s tennis team is true: the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has handed down a stiff penalty for an overpayment of a phone jack. According to The Berkshire Eagle, the UMass men’s basketball team and women’s tennis team were both punished for financial infractions. In a report to the University of Massachusetts from the NCAA, over three academic years, UMass provided impermissible financial aid on 13 instances to 12 student-athletes in two sport programs when it awarded them financial aid in excess of their full cost of attendance.

According to one of the tennis players involved in the infraction, the mistake that related to the tennis team involved athletes who lived off-campus receiving overpaid fees. According to the student-athlete, she had no knowledge that she was being overpaid. The money in question was a sum of $252 between three roommates over a telecom fee that appears to be for a phone jack ($126 extra going to each student). 

According to Masslive.com, once the university realized its overpayment error, it self-reported to the NCAA. The NCAA then ultimately fined the school $5,000, placed them on two years of probation, and forced them to vacate victories in the two sports from 2014-2017.

UMass has paid the fine of $5,000, but will appeal the NCAA’s decision to vacate victories from 2014-17 that included 59 basketball wins and an Atlantic 10 Conference championship in women’s tennis. A tennis player who was involved in the infraction has started an online petition asking friends, colleagues, and opponents to ask the NCAA not to vacate the tennis championship and three years of competition.