Stanford admits to Level II violations in football, softball from 2014

Stanfordhas admitted to a pair of Level II NCAA violations for the first time in its athletic department's history.

The university self-reported both transgressions in 2014. One came in football, where former wide receiver Devon Cajuste received impermissible benefits valued at under $400 from his summer landlord. The other came in softball, where an internal inquiry found that head coach John Rittman disregarded NCAA limits on team practice hours.

The university forced Rittman to resign after its inquiry, while the NCAA reinstated Cajuste's eligibility after he repaid the value of the impermissible benefits to charity and served a one-game suspension in the 2014 season opener.

"While the university has self-reported a number of Level III and Level IV [minor] violations in recent years, it had never had a Level I or II [major] violation," Stanford athletic director Bernard Muir wrote in a statement. "The university regrets these violations and has taken corrective actions to ensure that they are not repeated."

Cajuste's situation involved his summer living accommodations in the vicinity of the Stanford campus. In 2007, Stanford football initiated a process to help players connect with community homeowners to obtain rental housing in the summer months, when on-campus accommodations were often unavailable.

"The program helped football student-athletes remain in the area to train, attend summer classes and participate in internships and other activities that would benefit them after graduation," Muir wrote.

Stanford discovered that the impermissible benefits that Cajuste had received included meals with his landlord's family, movie tickets with the family and the use of a local vacation home. Cajuste's landlord also gave the receiver a loan to purchase a bicycle -- also deemed impermissible by the NCAA -- but the receiver had already repaid that loan at the time of Stanford's review.

"I unknowingly accepted impermissible benefits from my summer landlord," Cajuste wrote in a statement. "I look forward to moving on from this incident and to supporting my alma mater for many years to come. I will have no further comment on this matter."

Cajuste caught 90 passes for 14 touchdowns over his career at Stanford, which ended last season. He recently signed a contract with the Green Bay Packers' practice squad.

In his statement, Muir said that Stanford -- "recognizing the risk of these housing arrangements" -- has revised its policy and now prohibits student-athletes from renting local housing during the summer. Stanford student-athletes are now housed on campus.