By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
SMU women’s swimming & diving head coach Ozzie Quevedo was found to have violated NCAA recruiting rules after contacting a transfer prospect prior to their entry into the transfer portal, the NCAA announced Wednesday.
Quevedo initially called the student-athlete on the phone and then emailed her father before she had entered the transfer portal. A few days later, he sent the prospect multiple messages via WhatsApp, offering her “athletically related aid” (scholarship money). The offer was denied but he continued to send her messages.
Quevedo has since “acknowledged he was aware he was engaging in impermissible conduct.”
SMU, Quevedo and the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions agreed that the coach violated recruiting rules, leading Quevedo and the program to receive seven infractions.
The punishments aren’t as stiff as they might’ve been given Quevedo reported his own infraction to SMU’s compliance office.
“Quevedo is responsible for the violations under head coach responsibility rules,” the NCAA said.
“However, Quevedo promptly self-reported the violations to the university’s compliance office and accepted responsibility for them. Quevedo also acknowledged that he was well-educated and trained on recruiting rules and the transfer process; therefore, SMU did not fail to create an atmosphere of compliance or fail to monitor the program.”
The women’s swim & dive program received Level II-mitigated penalties and Level-II standard infractions were given to Quevedo.
The penalties will restrict Quevedo and SMU’s ability to actively recruit this season, and they’ll also see the coach miss 10% of the team’s practices throughout 2024-25. He’s also been given a show-cause order that will see him be absent from practices for 15 consecutive days during the “championship season.”
The penalties are as follows:
- One year of probation.
- A $5,000 fine.
- A 10% reduction in paid official visits for the women’s swimming and diving program for the 2024-25 academic year.
- A one-week prohibition against unofficial visits in the women’s swimming and diving program.
- A four-week prohibition in recruiting communications in the women’s swimming and diving program.
- A two-week prohibition has already been served and counts toward the four-week restriction (self-imposed).
- The remaining two-week restriction must be served when the swimming and diving Transfer Portal window opens during the 2024-25 academic year.
- A one-year show-cause order for Quevedo. During the show-cause order, Quevedo must be restricted from attending practice for 15 consecutive days for the 2024-25 championship season and must attend the 2025 NCAA Regional Rules Seminar at his own expense.
- Any school employing Quevedo in an athletically related position shall suspend him from 10% of the women’s swimming and diving regular-season contests during the 2024-25 academic year.
- Quevedo cannot be present, have contact or communicate with women’s swimming and diving coaching staff members or student-athletes during the suspension period. Additionally, Quevedo may not participate in any coaching activities, including team travel, practice, video study, recruiting or team meetings.
You can read the full resolution here.
Quevedo is coming off his first season as the head coach of the SMU women’s team, having been hired in April 2023 after a four-year run as an associate head coach at Alabama.
In his first campaign in Dallas, Quevedo led the Mustangs to a runner-up finish at the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Championships, moving up one spot from where they finished the season prior—though the 2023 conference champions, Houston, moved to the Big 12 last season.
SMU is joining the ACC this season.
Notably, SwimSwam reported in April how Quevedo made numerous cuts at the end of the 2023-24 season, with several members of the women’s roster opting to transfer elsewhere.
In July, SMU announced the addition of nine swimmers to its 2024-25 roster, along with three divers, while noting that only seven swimmers from last year’s team were returning.
The newcomers include NCAA transfers Madeleine Hebert (NC State), Isabella Krantzcke (Arizona State), Mira Szimcsak (Washington State), and Madison Parker (Washington State).
Read the full story on SwimSwam: SMU Women’s Head Coach Ozzie Quevedo Penalized For Recruiting Tampering