In 1997, six years after winning its last NCAA Championship, the Ithaca College football program was again recognized by the NCAA. But this time it was far less rewarding.

The Ithacan recently learned Ithaca College self-reported an NCAA violation that occurred in 1996 when volunteer football coaches John Heykes and Mike Woods were improperly paid, according to former coaches and an NCAA newsletter. The violating school is unnamed in the newsletter, but identified as a Division III football program.

"Two volunteer coaches each received money from an outside source for which they did not receive prior written approval for the income. Head coach received $2,900 from an alumnus for duties performed at another institution, and gave $500 to one coach and $1,200 to the other coach," violations of citations B 11.2.2 and 11.3.2.2, according to the Nov. 3, 1997 NCAA Register.

The Register states the violation was self-reported and the college issued a letter of reprimand to the head coach. The NCAA took no further action.

In this report, the "head coach" referred to is Ithaca College head football coach Mike Welch and the alumnus is Joseph Bowers '76, former offensive line coach Larry Czarnecki said. In June 1996, Welch, Czarnecki, Heykes and Woods served as coaches at the Bill Bates Football Camp, a three-day session for youths at North Florida University in Jacksonville, Fla. Bowers was the camp's director.

"Ithaca coaches participated in the camp and they were paid," Bowers said. "Anybody that participated in the camp was paid. There weren't any checks going directly to a coach."

In the 1997-98 NCAA Division III Manual, citation 11.3.2.2 states, "An outside source is prohibited from paying or regularly supplementing an athletics department staff member's annual salary. It would be permissible for an outside source to donate funds to the institution to be used as determined by the institution to pay or supplement a staff member's salary."

Citation 11.2.2 does not appear in the manual.

The NCAA would not confirm Ithaca College as the school involved. The NCAA said the infraction is a secondary violation, hence, it is considered a private matter. According to the NCAA web site, "a secondary violation is one that provides only a limited recruiting or competitive advantage and that is isolated or inadvertent in nature."

Woods, a part-time volunteer coach at the time of the violation, said Welch handed him a $1,200 check from the Bill Bates Football Camp before [the coaches] departed for the camp.

As well as Woods, Heykes said Welch handed him a check. Heykes, a graduate assistant and volunteer coach, said his check was made out for $500. He did not specify the source of the money.

"When you're working for free and you have living expenses and those things, sometimes you don't ask questions about where the money comes from," Heykes said. "You are just happy to be able to survive."

Heykes and Woods said Czarnecki later informed the college of the violation.

"[Czarnecki] left the program," Woods said. "He probably was not on good terms."

Czarnecki said he did not report the violation to the college, but said that when asked about the incident, he told what he knew.

"I do not want to bring anybody down," said Czarnecki, who played for Ithaca College and coached on the South Hill from 1986 to 1996. "But [the violation] is what happened. If I were to stonewall and say I did not know anything about it, that would [be] a lie. Loyalty and honesty are not synonyms."

After learning of the incident, Vice President of Student Affairs and Campus Life Jack Oblak questioned Czarnecki about the violation. The Ithacan obtained a transcript of a Feb. 27, 1997, interview conducted by Oblak with Czarnecki.

According to the transcript, Oblak asked, "When did you find out about this violation?"

Czarnecki responded, "I knew John Heykes was a volunteer. He basically said he was given $500 and he was a little miffed because Mike Woods was given $1,500."

Later in the interview, Oblak asked, "Any other NCAA violations that you're aware of?"

Czarnecki said he was unaware of any additional violations.

When approached this week, Oblak would not confirm or deny if the college was involved in an NCAA violation.

Welch also declined comment.

"That's been handled," Welch said last week. "It's been finished. It's been done with. I cannot comment on personnel issues."

Czarnecki said Welch's infraction could have warranted Welch's firing.

"His contract, just like my [old] contract, says you are subject to dismissal if you violate an NCAA rule. [Former Athletics Director] Bob Deming indicated that is the stipulation for all coaches."

Heykes said although the transaction may have been in violation of NCAA policy, Welch's intention was positive.

"Looking back, I guess, yeah, [Welch and I] tried to work around the system a little bit," Heykes said. "But you can't really come down hard on a guy who is trying to do the right thing and help people out. I do not know anyone as more of an upstanding person as Mike Welch."

Bob Jones, a graduate assistant at Ithaca College from 1995 to 1996, agrees Welch is a class act, but he said abiding by NCAA rules is a priority.

"You have to abide by the rules," Jones said. "They are there for a reason. They are there so people don't cheat and take advantage."

Professor Stephen D. Mosher agreed. Mosher has been an associate professor in exercise and sports science at Ithaca College for 11 years.

"A Division III school--if that is what you say you are, then you ought to live up to that stated code of behavior that you subscribe to. And people do not do that," Mosher said.

Nevertheless, Mosher recognizes the politics and downplays the actual NCAA monetary violation.

"The NCAA operates as a cartel and it determines what is in the best interest for the entire organization, not whether or not something is morally wrong," he said. "These decisions are political rather then ethical."

Although Oblak would not comment on the violation, he did discuss the school's generic policy on NCAA violations.

"When we have violations pointed out to us we certainly do notify the NCAA. The college tells the NCAA and their enforcement officer what action is going to be taken. They concur with that or they will say they don't think it's enough or it's too much, and then the action is taken as a personnel issue."

According to the NCAA, more than 2,000 secondary violations occur each year.