By Pete Borello

Foothill College has suspended its men’s basketball program for at least this season due to what athletic director Sue Gatlin called “recruiting violations.”

However, neither Gatlin nor Owls head coach Todd Petersen would comment on the nature of these alleged violations.

“We’re still trying to get to the bottom of it,” Gatlin said. “We’re still doing an investigation and can’t even say for sure. I’m not going to comment until we get all the facts.”

Gatlin said she hopes the internal investigation will be finished in the next two weeks and promised that the Los Altos Hills community college would make an official statement after it’s completed.

Gatlin did admit she “self-reported recruiting violations” to the Coast Conference Nov. 20, just days after learning of the alleged indiscretions.

That same day Foothill decided to suspend the basketball program, which had been put on probation two years ago for what Gatlin called “minor recruiting violations.”

Dropping the program was “an athletic decision in consultation with the administration,” according to Gatlin, who also met with Petersen and his players prior to taking action.

Petersen disagrees with the suspension, which he calls “a hasty, hasty decision” by Foothill.

“It was not told to me that it was recruiting violations, and I don’t believe there was any kind of recruiting violation,” he said. “This has to do with an entirely different issue.”

Although Petersen declined to comment on the record about what that issue is, the fourth-year coach said it could have been handled “in house.”

Petersen said his main concern now is the 15 players who are suddenly without a place to play.

“I want to take care of their situation as quickly and easily as possible,” said Petersen Monday while en route to UC Santa Barbara in an attempt to get one of his players a scholarship for next season. “They deserve better than this decision that’s been made.”

Gatlin said Foothill has arranged for the players, six of whom are from France, to work with an athletic counselor in an effort to find other places to play.

Terminating the program this early in the season, according to Gatlin, allows the players a chance to play elsewhere by the next quarter/semester or to sit out the year without it counting against their junior college eligibility.

“Under the drop-sport rule, it’s as if the season never existed,” she said.

Peterson points out, however, that it may affect players seeking a basketball scholarship from an NCAA Division I school.

The coach said that under NCAA Division I rules, athletes are allowed only five years to spend their four years of eligibility. Players typically use that extra year to “red shirt,” which allows them to ease into a new system, improve their grades or recover from an injury without wasting any eligibility.

So unless the Foothill players transfer this year, which Petersen said is unlikely since the season is already under way, they would be left without a red-shirt year.

“It’s a shame,” Petersen said, “because we have a lot of guys on this team who are good enough to receive scholarships.”

Foothill, which entered this season ranked fifth in the state, split its first six games. Last year, the Owls went 25-10 and reached the quarterfinals of the state playoffs.

Gatlin revealed little about the future of men’s basketball at Foothill, beyond conceding that the program could be suspended beyond this season. And she said even less regarding Petersen’s status as coach.

“We don’t discuss personnel issues.”