UC Santa Barbara inappropriately admitted four applicants as student athletes over a six-year period, according to a state audit of admissions at four University of California system campuses.
California State Auditor Elaine M. Howle reviewed admissions from 2013-14 to 2018-19 at UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC San Diego and UCSB and the report concluded that the four schools inappropriately admitted 64 applicants on the basis of their families’ donations to campuses or their connections to campus staff, leadership, and donors.
UC Berkeley was cited for 42 inappropriate admissions.
“These inappropriate admissions decisions subverted the university’s high standards for admissions and denied more qualified applicants educational opportunities,” the audit review said.
There were 22 instances of wrongful student-athlete admissions at the four campuses, including 13 at UC Berkeley, four each at UCSB and UCLA, and one at UC San Diego
The report said coaches at those campuses designated applicants as prospective student-athletes and those applicants didn’t meet the standards of that designation.
They either lacked the necessary athletic qualifications; did not substantially participate on the team for which they were recruited; or were designated as student-athletes after evidence indicated that donations or potential donations, family influence or familial connections influenced the decision.
The audit reviewed prospective student-athlete admissions for at least six of 14 teams at each campus. The sports were men’s soccer, women’s soccer, men’s crew, women’s crew, men’s track and field, women’s track and field, men’s golf, women’s golf, men’s water polo, women’s water polo, men’s swimming, women’s swimming, women’s basketball and men’s tennis.
The report included an example of how UCSB admitted a prospective student-athlete because of a connection to campus personnel or influential alumni and donors.
The applicant’s family were donors to one unspecified team at UCSB and also donated to another unspecified team at the same time their child applied for admission. The UCSB admissions department questioned the applicant’s qualifications, prompting several emails between coaches of the two teams and the applicant’s father.
“In one email, Coach 1 asked the father if the applicant’s high school coach could ‘put something together’ that would demonstrate the applicant’s talent and referred to the admissions process as a ‘game,’ the report said.
“The high school coach eventually submitted a letter of recommendation that included little detail about the applicant’s athletics skill and instead focused on the applicant’s personality. UC Santa Barbara then admitted the applicant as a student-athlete despite never receiving any additional evidence of athletic qualifications. Additionally, we found no evidence the applicant ever competed for the team.”
University of California President Michael V. Drake said the system would discipline individuals who were involved in improper admissions.
“I take the findings and recommendations very seriously and will do all I can to prevent inappropriate admissions at UC,” he said. “I have zero tolerance in matters of compromised integrity. Our entire organization is committed to a level playing field for every applicant.”
UCSB said in a statement that it “is fully committed to preventing any improper activity that interferes with a fair and level admissions process. As President Drake stated, the University of California is committed to a level playing field for every applicant. Unethical means to gain admission, as rare as they may be, run contrary to our longstanding values of equity and fairness.”
The audit report said UCSB has implemented new policies to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
“These safeguards include a review of every prospective athlete’s academic and athletic history by a faculty committee, verification by a compliance officer of any documentation, and a review of participation after one year,” UCSB officials said in a statement. “We are working with the UC Office of the President to identify any additional measures that will strengthen our campus policies and processes.”
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.