The Santa Barbara City College athletics department has been placed on probation until Sept. 10, 2026, following recruitment violations by former assistant football coach Robert Adan.
According to SBCC athletic director LaDeane Hansten in a story by The Channels, which first reported the story, Adan manipulated 16 out-of-state players’ applications with false addresses and graduation dates. This led the players to believe they would pay in-state tuition as student-athletes in Santa Barbara.
Adan was immediately placed on administrative leave and resigned one day later.
The investigation story was written by The Channels editors Cebelli Pfeifer and Anika Brodnansky.
The original investigation reported that 16 student-athletes were affected, but SBCC spokesperson Jordan Killebrew told Noozhawk that 18 student-athletes were identified with false applications.
While the entire athletic department is on probation, the football program will receive the bulk of the consequences.
SBCC football will not be eligible for postseason play until the probation is lifted in 2026, and the football staff is only permitted to recruit from the Santa Barbara, Allan Hancock and Ventura County community college districts.
As for the players, the California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A) officially declared them ineligible after ruling the program violated bylaws 2.2.1 and 2.2.2. Adan’s alleged fraud was reported by Hansten on Sept. 10, The Channels reported.
Since then, 16 of the 18 out-of-state football players have been reinstated by the 3C2A appeals board and have suited up for the Vaqueros this season. Meanwhile, the other two decided to unenroll from SBCC.
“Santa Barbara City College, our Admissions and Records Department, the Athletics Department and our Football staff all worked tirelessly to get this situation resolved as quickly as possible for our student-athletes,” Hansten told Noozhawk.
“We appreciate the speed with which the 3C2A Appeals Board was able to reinstate them for competition. We’re very proud of this team for their unwavering commitment to our program and coaching staff. Our commitment to their success as student-athletes at SBCC and beyond remains our top priority.”
Following the violations, SBCC was forced to create an Athletic Department Oversight Plan, allowing SBCC and the athletic department to monitor the recruitment process heavily with incoming and potential student-athletes.