North Dakota gets probation for tampering violations by assistant

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Tampering violations occurred in the North Dakota football program when assistant coach Travis Stepps recruited a player from another school who had not entered the transfer portal, the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions said Friday.

The findings resulted in penalties that included a one-year probation for North Dakota.

The committee said North Dakota, Stepps, head coach Eric Schmidt and the NCAA enforcement staff agreed the violations occurred. A statement released by the committee said Stepps knowingly communicated with the student-athlete he previously recruited while in high school. Most of the contact occurred in the fall before the transfer portal window had opened.

The violations were uncovered when Stepps sent the player's academic transcript to the North Dakota compliance department, which flagged that the player was not in the transfer portal. The school self-reported the violation.

North Dakota and the NCAA staff agreed that Schmidt was responsible for the violations as the head coach but was not aware of the impermissible contact and had promoted an atmosphere for compliance. The school and the NCAA agreed that Schmidt should not receive any penalties.

The school, coaches and NCAA enforcement staff agreed upon the following penalties without the need of a formal hearing: a one-year probation; a $25,000 fine; a one-week ban on recruiting communications for the football program during the January 2027 notification-of-transfer window; a 3% reduction in official paid visits in football and three one-week bans on football unofficial visits during the 2026-27 academic year; a one-year show-cause order for Stepps; and a one-game suspension for Stepps during the 2026 season.