UND Football penalized by NCAA for tampering violation

On Friday, June 5 the NCAA and Division i Committee on Infractions (COI) released a resolution with the University of North Dakota surrounding a rules violations by a staff member in the football program. In a release from the NCAA, the violation occurred when football assistant coach Travis Stepps had contact surrounding recruiting with a student-athlete from another school who had not yet entered him name into the Transfer Portal. The University, Stepps, football head coach Eric Schmidt, and the enforcement staff came to a joint agreement that the violations came following Stepps knowing that the student-athlete was not in the transfer portal, but still communicated with the student-athlete. It was noted that Stepps had originally recruited the student-athlete out of high school. The NCAA's release stated that the violation occurred during the fall, before the football notification-of-transfer window had opened. The conversations centered around the student-athlete inquiring about transferring to North Dakota along with offering Steps practice film and his academic transcript. The violations had been uncovered once Stepps sent the student-athlete's transcript to the North Dakota compliance department. The department flagged the student-athlete's status as not in the Transfer Portal where the department then self-reported the violation. All partied involved agreed upon Level II-mitigated penalties for the University of North Dakota, Stepps, and Schmidt. The approved list of infraction penalties are listed below: One year of probation $25,000 fine One-week recruiting communications ban for the football program during the January 2027 notification-of-transfer window 3% reduction in official paid football visits during the 2026-27 academic year Three separate one week bans on unofficial visits for football during the 2026-27 academic year A one-year show-cause order for Stepps, during which any NCAA member school must restrict him from communicating with four-year transfer prospects during the entire January 2027 football notification-of-transfer window One-game suspension for Stepps during the upcoming 2026 football season In a release by the University both Director of Athletics Bill Chaves along with Schmidt gave comment to the violation. Chaves said, 'We take responsibility for this Level II violation. It was identified through our own internal review and promptly self-reported, which reflects our commitment to compliance and institutional integrity. At the same time, I would be remiss to not acknowledge the broader context in which this occurred. The current recruiting environment, particularly in football, has evolved rapidly, and there are areas where existing NCAA rules don't always align cleanly with the realities of today's recruiting cycle. That tension doesn't excuse the violation, but it does underscore the need for continued clarity and modernization in the rules and the 12-month football calendar. Our focus remains on educating our staff, strengthening our processes and competing the right way while adapting to a changing landscape.' As for Schmidt he commented, 'We acknowledge the violation and take responsibility for it. We are committed to doing things the right way. At the same time, there's important context here – the recruit in this case never set foot on our campus in Grand Forks nor played for us, and the intent was to support him based on a prior relationship. That doesn't excuse the violation, and we understand the standard we are held to, but it does speak to the circumstances surrounding it. Moving forward, we'll continue to educate our staff and ensure we're operating within both the letter and the spirit of the rules.'