Billionaire Miami businessman John Ruiz says he would have filed a lawsuit against the NCAA had the association punished him or his business in its latest infractions ruling involving Miami, and he contends that the school should “go after” the organization.
The NCAA handed down its first NIL-related infractions ruling Friday, sanctioning the Miami women’s basketball program for improper contact and inducements—both of which involved Ruiz. Last April, he hosted two women’s basketball players, Haley and Hanna Cavinder, at his home for a dinner while they were prospective transfers to the school.
After an investigation, the NCAA put the Miami women’s basketball program on a one-year probation, slapped it with somewhat-minor recruiting sanctions and a three-game suspension for coach Katie Meier, whom the association says facilitated the meeting between the Cavinders and Ruiz.
However, the NCAA did not require the school to disassociate from Ruiz.
“Had it personally impacted on me or my company, I would have sued the NCAA, and they would have had a big battle,” Ruiz said Friday. “They are interrupting the rules in the wrong way. There was nothing improper.
“It’s somewhat upsetting for these young girls that have nothing to do with this,” he continues. “Ultimately, the NCAA has to appear they are doing something. It’s entirely up to the school to resolve these grievances with the NCAA. If it was up to me, I’d go after them, and it would not be a good day for them. To interpret what happened in the fashion they have is totally unwarranted.”
Ruiz describes the NCAA’s ruling as “pretty foolish” and says he is not a booster and should not be classified as such.
“I’m running a company and I am negotiating deals for cooperation,” he says. “A booster is someone that gives money to a school to promote its programs. That wasn’t the purpose of any of the communications.”
The ruling will not change the way Ruiz does his NIL-related business, he says. Ruiz has distributed upward of $10 million pay to more than 150 athletes, many of them from Miami.
“This decision does not affect what I do or how I will continue to do it,” he says. “We know we do everything properly. We continue negotiations the way we do.
“The bigger picture … how can you make deals with players if you can’t communicate with them? It violates constitutional protections in engaging in contracts.”
For months now, the college sports world has waited for the governing body to investigate, prosecute and penalize programs for violations in this new NIL era, where boosters and booster-led collectives are supplying millions to college athletes and promising millions to college prospects.
Somewhat fittingly, the NCAA first targeted Ruiz, arguably the most publicly brash figure in the NIL world. He has in the past brazenly announced NIL deals on social media, even before athletes had signed with the university.
In a twist of irony, a tweet from Ruiz in April 2022 drew the NCAA to this case. While in the transfer portal, Haley and Hanna Cavinder, as well as their parents, dined with Ruiz at his Miami home on April 13. On his Twitter account that night, Ruiz posted a photo of the entire group posing in front of his home.
The meeting was in violation of several NCAA recruiting rules. The association described it as “impermissible contact,” and the chef-prepared dinner provided by Ruiz is classified as a recruiting “inducement.” Though these rules have become murky during the NIL era, boosters are prohibited from associating with prospects or providing them improper benefits.
Meier was cited for violating “head-coach responsibility,” as text messages from Meier to Ruiz show that the coach facilitated the meeting between the booster and the Cavinders.
After Ruiz and Meier met last spring at an athletic event, they began exchanging messages about the recruitment of the Cavinders. Ruiz texted the coach that he’s “here to help” and wanted “women’s (basketball) to be huge for UM.”
“[The NCAA is] interrupting the rules in the wrong way,” Ruiz says. “There was nothing improper.”
