UNLV phone probe could take weeks

Steve Guiremand

Monday, May 12, 2003 | 10:19 a.m.

An investigation into the unauthorized use of an athletic department phone code for long distance phone calls by UNLV students and athletes is expected to continue for several weeks and will likely result in NCAA-mandated suspension for some athletes.

The UNLV athletic department issued a release on Sunday reporting that campus police have been conducting the investigation since April 28 when an audit revealed the illegal calls, most of which were made from a campus dormitory and could be traced to their original phone numbers.

UNLV athletic director and head football coach John Robinson, who returned from Mountain West Conference football coaching meetings in Phoenix over the weekend, said he would not comment on the matter.

"We're releasing a statement (by the athletic department)," Robinson said. "The campus police are handling the investigation and we don't want to say or do anything that could potentially interfere with that investigation."

Once the campus police investigation is completed, the UNLV athletic department will conduct its own investigation and report its findings to the NCAA.

Many of the athletes involved are believed to be freshmen who are required to stay in UNLV dormitories their first year on campus. According to sources familiar with the police investigation, many of the students and athletes rang up phone tabs in the range of $20 to $50 with some going over the key $100 figure.

Of primary interest is how the phone PIN was obtained and by whom. Investigators are looking over phone records to see how long the phone fraud has been taking place.

All involved will be required to make restitution. For athletes involved, the unauthorized phone calls also constitute an extra benefit that is prohibited under NCAA rules. For charges of $100 or less, punishment guidelines call only for the player to make restitution. For larger sums, guidelines mandate suspensions.

UNLV isn't the first Division I school to have problems with athletes making unauthorized telephone calls with an athletic department employee's telephone access number.

Villanova, coached by former Rebels basketball assistant Jay Wright, suspended 12 basketball players before the Big East tournament for a similar breach. And former Wildcats star Kerry Kittles was suspended for three games at the end of the 1996 season for charging more than $3,000 in telephone calls to a university employee's phone card.