Compliance staff keeps strict tabs on UNLV athletes’ cars

The fallout from the Ohio State scandal has caused compliance departments throughout the country to re-examine how they monitor which vehicles athletes drive, but Eric Toliver said UNLV already has a stringent system in place.

"The only way we could improve it is to arrange our compliance personnel to watch who's pulling into the parking lot and see what they're driving," said Toliver, UNLV's senior associate athletic director for compliance.

The NCAA is investigating more than 50 vehicle transactions at Ohio State in a probe that includes star quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

It's part of a broader scandal that forced longtime football coach Jim Tressel to resign Monday and also may have put the jobs of university president Gordon Gee and athletic director Gene Smith in jeopardy.

Former Buckeyes football coach John Cooper blamed the school's compliance department for "not doing their job."

"You look at a school like Ohio State that has 1,000 athletes," Toliver said. "They probably have six or seven people in the compliance department, and that's still inordinate for the number of athletes they have. Some schools have an arms race in facilities, but not in compliance, which is unfortunate."

UNLV's compliance department, which includes Toliver, has two full-time staffers and one part-timer.

Toliver said all UNLV athletes must "declare any vehicles they use during the year" even if it is registered to someone else. Athletes provide the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), insurance information, title or lease, and a copy of the Department of Motor Vehicles registration.

The compliance department checks out who holds the title or lease and also the vehicle's value.

If an athlete drives an undeclared vehicle, that player is ruled ineligible by UNLV until the process is completed.

Toliver said he hasn't discovered any athletes trying to hide the vehicles they drive, but has come across fancy additions such as new rims that the school must check on to verify how the items were paid for.

"Knock on wood, we've never had to report a violation (to the NCAA) in regard to a vehicle," Toliver said. "We get allegations all the time, and we run every one out regardless if they're silly or mundane."

Sometimes a nonvehicle violation is discovered and reported to the NCAA. But Toliver said about 80 percent of the 20 to 25 violations that come to light are self-reported by UNLV coaches.

Most involve recruiting violations regarding phone calls and text messages.

"If I could get rid of one rule in the (NCAA) manual, it would be telephone and text messages," Toliver said. "If a recruit texts he's lost on campus and the coach responds, that's a violation.

"It may be silly, but as an institution we can't be arbitrary and say we won't report it. We've got to turn it in. The NCAA will look into mitigating circumstances. They won't totally ban the recruit to the university, but they want to make sure monitoring is involved and there is institutional control."

An administrator is assigned to monitor each sport. Coaches must police their athletes, but Toliver said players bear responsibility, too.

"They all know the rules," he said. "It's whether they abide by them."

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.