Memo: LSU had tutors do work for athletes

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Posted 8:24AM on Sunday, March 31, 2002

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - LSU athletes had tutors write, rewrite and type papers, read books, and look up test answers for them, violating NCAA rules and LSU policies, according to a university memo. The memo from Roger Grooters, director of LSU's Academic Center for Student-Athletes, to the athletic department's NCAA compliance officer, listed seven alleged violations. The Jan. 22 memo to Associate Athletic Director David ``Bo'' Bahnsen also listed an eighth incident as an intention to break the rules. LSU released the memo after blacking out names and anything else that might identify the people involved. LSU has been investigating the allegations since January. Southeastern Conference Commissioner Roy Kramer will decide if the NCAA should get involved. In his memo, Grooters wrote that a former worker in the Academic Center for Student-Athletes came to him Jan. 16 and told him about alleged violations, and gave details in interviews over the next two days. The allegations included: Athletes took unsupervised tests at the center during the last academic year, and at least one took a book bag into one test. The former worker was asked several times to type papers without payment. NCAA rules forbid schools to pay for typing done for athletes. Last fall, the former worker saw someone writing a paper from notes for an athlete, then typing it. After refusing to summarize five articles for an athlete, the worker was asked to rewrite summaries in the final format. The worker was told to read a book for an athlete who didn't have enough time to read it himself, and, last fall, to find test answers for a potential athlete. The worker was asked last summer to read material, find answers to questions and highlight answers in a book for an athlete enrolled in Kinesiology 4900. On March 8, a kinesiology instructor met with LSU officials and alleged improper academic support for student-athletes. Last fall, an ACSA staff member told Grooters that a worker in the center had been up late typing a paper for a student-athlete. That indicated an intention to violate NCAA rules, Grooters wrote. LSU Athletic Director Skip Bertman has said the investigation centers on five to 10 student-athletes, including football players. LSU has notified the NCAA of its investigation, Bahnsen said recently. He could not be reached for comment Friday. NCAA assistant director for public relations Jane Jankowski said Friday the NCAA would not comment on the investigation or the seriousness of the possible infractions. Grooters' allegations started an athletic department investigation that expanded to LSU's human resources department and office of academic affairs. Grooters wrote that he had not tried to make a formal investigation but, had to check out the information. ``From what I have learned through my informal visits with (name blacked out) I have become very concerned that (name blacked out) has violated rules and instructed others to do so,'' he wrote.