Countless college football coaches and programs have been called out for tampering in the transfer portal and NIL era. But they rarely face consequences.
On Friday, the NCAA decided to punish an FCS program for tampering.
The NCAA found that “tampering violations occurred in the North Dakota football program when football assistant coach Travis Stepps had impermissible recruiting conversations with a student-athlete from another school who had not been entered into the Transfer Portal.”
How Is UND Getting Punished?
The NCAA announced these penalties for UND:
- One year of probation
- A $25,000 fine
- A one-game suspension for Stepps during the 2026 football season
- A one-week ban on recruiting communications for the football program during the January 2027 notification-of-transfer window
- A 3% reduction in official paid visits in football during the 2026-27 academic year
- Three one-week bans on football unofficial visits during the 2026-27 academic year
- A one-year show-cause order for Stepps, during which any employing NCAA member school must restrict him from communicating with four-year transfer prospects during the entire January 2027 football notification-of-transfer window
How Did The NCAA Find Out?
This was a self-reported violation. Stepps sent the player’s academic transcript to UND’s compliance department, which then recognized that the player was not in the transfer portal.
Per the NCAA, Stepps communicated with a player who was at another school and was not in the portal. Stepps had known this player as he had recruited him out of high school.
Conversations happened during the fall, which is before the notification-of-transfer window, and were about the possibility of that player transferring to UND. The player offered to send Stepps practice film and his academic transcript.
Stepps, according to the NCAA, knew the player wasn’t in the portal and communicating with the player was breaking the rules. UND head coach Eric Schmidt wasn’t personally involved or aware of the matter and therefore wasn’t punished. Per the NCAA, the university, coaches, and enforcement staff agreed on the violations and the penalties.
Reaction To UND’s Penalties
It seems UND handled this well once the mistake was made. They self-reported the matter and were in agreement with how the NCAA doled out penalties.
But of all the programs to get punished for tampering, many are wondering why it’s North Dakota:
Some even think UND shouldn’t have self-reported the matter at all:
UND is one of the premier programs in the FCS and probably should’ve faced some consequences. But it does show that the NCAA is capable of handing out penalties for breaking the rules.
Power Four schools rarely deal with punishments like this.
