UND football hit with NCAA tampering violations

GRAND FORKS (KVRR) – The Division I Committee of Infractions with the NCAA announced that the North Dakota football program has been hit with tampering violations and have been penalized. This stems from impermissible, recruiting conversations between assistant coach Travis Stepps and a recruit that had not entered the transfer portal.

NCAA statement:

“Stepps agreed that he knew the student-athlete was not in the Transfer Portal and that communicating with him was not permissible. The parties also agreed that Schmidt was automatically responsible for the violations due to head coach responsibility legislation. However, the parties noted that he was not personally involved in the violations, was not aware of the impermissible contact and promoted an atmosphere for compliance, and thus the parties agreed that he should not receive any penalties.” 

Here is a list of penalties from the NCAA to UND:

• One year of 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 during the 2026-27 academic year.
• Three one-week bans on football unofficial visits during the 2026-27 academic year.
• A one-year show-cause order for Stepps, during which any employing NCAA member school must restrict him from communicating with four-year transfer prospects during the entire January 2027 football notification-of-transfer window.
• A one-game suspension for Stepps during the 2026 football season.

North Dakota opens their season against Long Island University at home on August 27.