The Wisconsin football program has been placed on one year of probation and faces a fine of $25,000 after nine coaches and staffers were found to have made impermissible phone calls to recruits in 2023, according to a report from ESPN on Thursday.
As a result of the impermissible contact, former defensive line coach Greg Scruggs and former director of player personnel Max Stienecker were given one-year show cause orders. Scruggs is currently an assistant defensive line coach for the San Francisco 49ers, while Stienecker currently works as the executive director of personnel at USC.
Luke Fickell, who was found to have violated head coach responsibility rules, and outside linebackers/special teams coach Matt Mitchell were also punished, and they were prohibited from any contact with high school recruits during a one-week period from June 15-21.
“Wisconsin Athletics is deeply committed to maintaining the highest level of integrity and holding ourselves accountable,” the school said in a statement, per ESPN. “We believe in doing things the right way, no matter the consequences. The issue at hand occurred two years ago under a rule that was actively being changed and no longer exists. We identified the mistake and were proactive in self-reporting and investigating and resolving the issue.”
The Division I Committee on Infractions reportedly found that there were a total of 139 impermissible calls made to 48 prospects, with 60 of those lasting less than a minute. The calls were discovered by the school’s compliance department and were self-reported to the NCAA.
Fickell, who is 13-13 in two full seasons in Madison, enters a pivotal Year 3 after a disappointing 5-7 finish last fall. The Badgers will look to bounce back from that while facing some minor limitations from the NCAA.
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