NCAA rules 2 Hoosiers must sit out 9 games

INDIANAPOLIS — No. 1 Indiana will open its season Friday night without two key freshmen players.

On Tuesday, the NCAA suspended 6-foot-8 forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea and 7-foot center Peter Jurkin for the first nine games this season and will require them to repay a portion of the impermissible benefits they received to a charity of their choice.

Enforcement officials at the governing body officials found the players' AAU coach Mark Adams provided them with $9,702 and $6,003 in plane tickets, meals, housing, a laptop computer, a cellphone and clothing. Mosquera-Perea must pay back approximately $1,590. Jurkin must repay $250 to be reinstated.

The NCAA said in a statement Tuesday night both players were qualified to receive the benefits from the nonprofit organization Adams used to help international players obtain travel documents and cover travel costs to the U.S. The problem was that Adams also was considered an Indiana booster because he donated $185 to the Varsity Club from 1986-92, and boosters cannot provide benefits to players.

Adams had been involved in a previous eligibility case that involved an additional $2,655 to former Indiana basketball player Tijan Jobe.

Despite the minimal nature of Mr. Adams' donations, and the fact that the last donation he made was more than 15 years before he provided expenses to a prospective student-athlete who enrolled at the institution, the NCAA wrote in its letter to the school. Mr. Adams must be considered a representative of the institution's athletics interests.

The NCAA considers these secondary infractions and credited the university for taking substantial and meaningful corrective actions. Those actions included paying a $5,000 fine for failing to properly certify one player before he started competing, suspending communications with Adams and disassociating the program from Adams.

Indiana plans to file appeal the length of the two suspensions later this week, though schools usually win those cases. The players cannot play while the appeal is heard, though they can continue to practice and participate in other team functions.