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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

NCAA penalizes Montana football over booster perks

Amy Beth Hanson Associated Press

HELENA – The University of Montana’s football program was placed on probation for three years Friday and will have its scholarships reduced from 63 to 59 over the same period after the NCAA found boosters provided extra benefits to players, including bail money and free legal representation for two athletes.

Other player perks provided by boosters included free meals along with clothing, lodging and transportation, the NCAA found.

The university and former coach Robin Pflugrad failed in their duties to monitor the football program, the NCAA enforcement office said in its report.

The penalties, many self-imposed by the school, include vacating five wins for games in which ineligible players participated after receiving help with their legal problems in violation of NCAA rules.

The vacated games include a 36-10 win over rival Montana State and FCS playoff wins over Central Arkansas and Northern Iowa in 2011. Montana won the Big Sky Conference title in 2011, finished 11-3 overall and advanced to the FCS semifinals before falling to Sam Houston State.

The school did not receive a post-season ban.

President Royce Engstrom and athletic director Kent Haslam issued statements Friday saying the university has expanded its compliance office and is improving its communication of NCAA rules to the university’s fan base.

Pflugrad, who is now the offensive coordinator at Weber State, is suspended from coaching during the first game of the 2013 season and faces recruiting restrictions this season. He also must attend a NCAA regional rules seminar in 2014.

Pflugrad accepts the sanctions and will not coach from Aug. 26 through Aug. 31, when the Wildcats play Stephen F. Austin, Weber State athletic director Jerry Bovee said in a statement.

Pflugrad, who coached at Montana in 2010 and 2011, did not respond to a phone message seeking comment.

Much of the case revolves around the October 2011 arrests of cornerback Trumaine Johnson, who now plays for the St. Louis Rams, and backup quarterback Gerald Kemp by police trying to break up a loud party. Officers used stun guns on the players.

The NCAA found that a booster posted a $340 bond to bail the two out of jail at the request of one player’s grandfather — who later repaid her — while an attorney provided each with about $1,500 in free legal representation after a student employee in the football office told the players his mother was a lawyer. Kemp and Johnson pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct charges in December 2011.