Titan Baseball Is Hit With PCAA Penalties for Violation of Rule

The Cal State Fullerton baseball program has been placed on probation until March, 1987, been forced to forfeit all its wins from the 1985 season, will be allowed to give only 10 grants-in-aid for the 1986-87 academic year, and head Coach Augie Garrido given a public reprimand, all for the awarding of improper financial aid to several team members, the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. announced Monday.

The Conference Compliance Committee penalized the Fullerton baseball program because, in a prepared statement from the office of PCAA Commissioner Lewis A. Cryer, “. . . . it was determined that Garrido had circumvented the University’s procedure for awarding financial aid by providing from personal funds the housing expenses for nine members of the Titans’ 1985 squad and thus violated NCAA policy.”

According to Garrido, in the fall of 1984, he distributed funds he’d raised through his summer baseball camps to the university’s Off-Campus Housing Authority to help cover rent for nine of his players, four of whom are still on the team.

Garrido said that while he made an error, he felt that it was a procedural matter and that it was not his intent to cheat.

When Garrido was asked how much personal money was distributed to the Housing Authority, he replied, “$15,700 or something like that. That’s not to the penny, but it’s pretty close.”

Garrido further said that at the time of the incident (1984), the school’s baseball trust account--where the money properly should have gone--had a deficit of $12,766 or $12,700 and he feared the money he was trying to help his players with would have gone to balance the budget instead.

Said Garrido: “The proper procedure would have been to direct the funds to our athletic business office for disbursement to the housing authority instead of submitting them directly to the housing authority.

“But because a deficit existed in the baseball trust account, which is the account where outside revenues are deposited, I was convinced that the additional funds would be used to offset the deficit before they would have been made available to fulfill the scholarship requirements already committed.

“No competitive advantage was sought nor achieved. My commitment is to follow PCAA and NCAA rules and keep the Cal State Fullerton baseball program at a competitive level year-in and year-out.”

Fullerton Athletic Director Ed Carroll said that after the mistake in procedures in disbursing such funds was first noticed in the spring of 1985, the school held an internal investigation to determine what happened and reported its findings to the conference, which further investigated the matter before acting Monday.

Said Carroll: “What the student-athletes in question received was within NCAA rules, which we totally support.”

The PCAA announcement said that the Conference Compliance Committee’s findings will be forwarded to the NCAA Committee on Infractions for review.

When asked if he thought the NCAA would levy further sanctions on the Fullerton baseball program, Carroll said, “I’d be flabbergasted (if they did). I think the NCAA will also agree with those (PCAA sanctions). The PCAA Compliance Committee has rarely been overturned (by a higher NCAA ruling).” Carroll further called the PCAA sanctions “. . . . harsh but fair.” Those include only 10 baseball scholarships for next season versus the usual 13 and an adjustment of the Titans’ 1985 record from 36-32-1 to 0-69.

The Titans finished second to Fresno State that season, but whether they also will sacrifice their place in the standings was not clear.

Garrido, 47, has been the Fullerton coach for 14 years and directed the Titans to the 1979 and 1984 NCAA Championship.