Former Gannon Head Coach Found to Have “Acted Unethically” by NCAA

The former Gannon University head swimming coach has been disciplined and told that his behavior has been “unethical” by the NCAA. The coach’s name has been left out of the documents pertaining to the case, but Nathan Walters was the head coach of the program at the time of the incident. Former assistant Darren Suroviec is currently listed as the program’s head coach (having had an earlier interim tag removed), and the team only currently has two coaches listed on their roster, as compared to the usual 3.

Walters’name mysteriously disappeared from the team’s roster in September, 2015 and he was placed on a “leave of absence” by the school without explanation.

The men’s head coach provided $3,000 in extra financial aid to a swimmer on the team, according to a decision issued by the Division II Committee on Infractions. The extra aid was agreed to in August, 2015 and reported to Gannon administration by an assistant coach later that month.

In order to get the money to the swimmer on the men’s team, the coach increased a scholarship for a women’s team member by $4,000 and told her parents to write a $3,000 check to the male swimmer. The assistant swimming coach at the time was the one who informed the committee of this possible violation, and the institution launched an investigation prior to the NCAA involvement.

The case was resolved using the summary disposition process, which is a cooperative effort where all the parties involved collectively submit the case to the Committee on Infractions. Then, the individuals, university, and NCAA enforcement staff must agree upon the facts of the case in order for the process to be utilized over the traditional hearing.

The penalties against the coach include public reprimand and censure, and a three year show-cause order from the April 28, 2016 until April 27, 2019. If he becomes employed by an NCAA school during that period, he and the school must come before the Committee on Infractions to determine if the coach should have limited athletic duties.

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DrSwimPhil
7 years ago

Wait, DII actually has an infractions committee? Good to see…

x-man
7 years ago

Who did he hurt by doing this? Women’s teams have plenty of money and funding while men’s team do not.

Reply to  x-man
7 years ago

Trolls gonna troll

x-man
Reply to  coacherik
7 years ago

He had a a surpluses of resources for his women’s team, and a deficiency for his men’s team. It is a logical business move and benefited a male student athlete.

Just sayin\'
Reply to  x-man
7 years ago

Both teams have the same coaches, practices, and amount of scholarships to divide within the team. They both have all the same resources. So by taking money from the woman’s team for a male swimmer it’s more like he put the male team to an advantage and the woman’s team at a disadvantage.

BlackMamba
Reply to  Just sayin\'
7 years ago

Mens scholarships get sucked up by football while a women would get twice as much money for the same speed equivalent to womens. Therefore men dont have as much so i think he did the right thing…. Tbh

tru chainz
Reply to  x-man
7 years ago

Nobody, but that doesn’t matter, because SCANDAL!
But really, who cares about this? Don’t we wanna hear more about Brock Turner?

DIICoacher
Reply to  x-man
7 years ago

At DII, the scholarship limit is the same, 8.1, for both genders.

BearlyBreathing
7 years ago

How refreshing to hear about malfeasance in our sport that isn’t sexual in nature.

SUNY Cal
7 years ago

Glad the guy got caught. – kinda sad he ruined his lively hood. I heard he was an aquatics instructor at a local country club in the area & lost that also because of this. Cheating never pays!!!

About Aaron Schwartz

Aaron Schwartz

Aaron Schwartz Aaron Schwartz has been swimming since age 10 at CCAT Club Team. Although he's dabbled with many events, he prides himself as being a sprint breastroker and freestyler. He has always been interested in technology, and wants to attend the Goizueta Business School At Emory University. At Emory, Aaron …

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