Infractions Referral Committee (IRC)

The Infractions Referral Committee decides whether to approve or reject requests to refer infractions cases to the independent process. If the Infractions Referral Committee decides not to refer an infractions case to the independent process, the case will reside in the NCAA’s peer-review process.

The committee consists of a member of the Independent Resolution Panel (serves as chair), a member of the Division I Committee on Infractions, a member of the Division I Infractions Appeals Committee, and the chair and vice chair of the Division I Council.

Infractions Referral Committee Members

IRC Chair
Independent Resolution Panel
Jeffrey Benz

Jeffrey Benz

JAMS, Inc.

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. Division I Committee on Infractions
Alberto Gonzales

Alberto Gonzales

Dean, Belmont University

View Bio
.
Division I Council, Chair
Shane Lyons

Shane Lyons

Director of Athletics and Associate Vice President, West Virginia University

View Bio
.
Division I Infractions Appeals Committee
David Shipley

David Shipley

Georgia Athletic Association, professor of law and faculty athletics representative, University of Georgia School of Law

View Bio
.
Division I Council, Vice Chair
Lynda Tealer

Lynda Tealer

University of Florida Athletic Association, Executive Associate Athletics Director for Administration

View Bio
Download the IRC Roster

Infractions Referral Committee Procedures

These procedures constitute the operating procedures adopted by the NCAA Division I Board of Directors for the review and issuance of decisions by the Infractions Referral Committee (IRC) regarding requests to transfer infractions cases to the Independent Accountability Resolution Process. The procedures serve as guidance to Division I member institutions, involved individuals, the enforcement staff and the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions regarding the IRC’s duties, responsibilities and process.

Download the IRC Procedures
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Lynda Tealer

Lynda Tealer

University of Florida Athletic Association, Executive Associate Athletics Director for Administration

Lynda Tealer joined the University of Florida Athletic Association staff in 2003, was elevated to Senior Associate Athletics Director - Senior Woman Administrator in 2007, and then to Executive Associate Athletics Director for Administration in 2012.

Tealer oversees the sports health, information and technology, and human resources departments, while supervising the men’s basketball, softball and volleyball programs. She headed the committee that explored and added the program’s 21st varsity sport, lacrosse, and she’s overseen University of Florida athletic programs that have collected 31 conference titles and five NCAA Championship trophies since 2003.

A current member of the NCAA Division I Council, Tealer began serving as the committee’s vice chair in July of 2021.

Tealer came to the UAA from the Southland Conference, where she was an Associate Commissioner. Prior to joining the Southland Conference, Tealer was at Santa Clara University (SCU) for four years as the compliance director, was elevated to SCU’s Assistant Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Services and senior woman administrator and, in 1999, was appointed Assistant Athletic Director for Intercollegiate Sports.

While at SCU, Tealer was named to the NCAA Division I Management Council as the Division I-AAA at-large representative. She then assumed the West Coast Conference representative position and later rejoined the Council as the Southland Conference representative in 2001. She also was a member of the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee.

Tealer is a 1992 graduate of the University of San Diego, where she earned a degree in business administration while playing basketball. She also possesses a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, where she was a member of the Thurgood Marshall Legal Society.

Shane Lyons

Shane Lyons

Director of Athletics and Associate Vice President, West Virginia University

In recognition of Shane Lyons’ leadership in helping West Virginia University (WVU) student-athletes succeed in the classroom and in competition, he was named 2021 NACDA Athletics Director of the Year. With his focus on the student-athlete and their development, Lyons has served on numerous national athletics committees.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lyons chaired the Football Oversight Committee, helping make adjustments to allow for a 2020 season. He is also a member of the NCAA Council, serving as the 2021-2022 chair. Additionally, Lyons served on the NCAA Working Group on Transfers, the Football Competition Committee, and the NCAA Wrestling Academics Enhancement Working Group.

Lyons has also been chair of the Big 12 Athletic Directors Committee, a member of the Big 12 Administration Committee, Finance and Budget Committee and the Game Management and Officiating Subcommittee, as well as serving on numerous other national committees. His fundraising and planning efforts resulted in more than $200 million in WVU athletic facilities improvements.  

Prior to coming to WVU, Lyons spent more than three years as the Deputy Director of Athletics and Chief Operating Officer at the University of Alabama. Before that, he spent 10 years as an Associate Commissioner at the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), focusing on conference-wide compliance and academic initiatives, as well as serving as the ACC’s Human Resources Manager. Lyons has also served as Associate Athletics Director at Texas Tech, as an NCAA Senior Membership Services Representative and as Assistant Commissioner for Compliance and Championships for the Big South Conference.

Dr Jim Harris

James (Jim) T. Harris III

President, University of San Diego

James T. Harris III has served as the president and a professor of education at the University of San Diego (USD) since 2015. During his time as president, USD has been recognized for its work in environmental sustainability, diversity and inclusion, and advancing the public good. For example, in 2021 The Princeton Review ranked USD among the 50 most “green” colleges.

In 2021, USD launched the Horizon Project, a five-year initiative designed to move USD into the forefront of Catholic higher education by following Pope Francis’ guidance that as a Catholic community we must be more “open, inclusive and welcoming.” In the fall of 2021, USD enrolled its most diverse class of students in its history. Last year, USD was ranked #1 in the nation for public service by Washington Monthly magazine. In 2017, the university was recognized as having the most beautiful campus in America by The Princeton Review. USD athletic teams compete in the West Coast Conference and Pioneer Football League.

Dr. Harris also holds the title of President Emeritus of Widener University and earlier in his career served as the President of Defiance College. Dr. Harris has served in leadership roles on several national education associations including CASE, NCAA, Campus Compact, NAICU, CUMU as well as on multiple other state and local governing boards. He currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Monarch School Project in San Diego, a public k-12 school dedicated to serving children who are unhoused.

He has been named one of the Top Fifty Character Building Presidents in the Nation by the John Templeton Foundation, received the Chief Executive Leadership Award by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, and has been recognized by the NAACP and for his work in support of civil rights. His alma maters have formally recognized him for his service to society, and the Pennsylvania State University Board of Trustees awarded him the distinguished alumnus award, the highest honor given to a graduate. He remains an active scholar and teacher.

Nadja West

Nadja West

U.S. Army Lieutenant General (Ret.), 44th Army Surgeon General and Former Commanding General of the U.S. Army Medical Command

Lieutenant General (Ret) Nadja West is the 44th U.S. Army Surgeon General, and the former Commanding General of U.S. Army Medical Command (USAMEDCOM). In 2015, West became the first African American woman 3-Star General in the Army’s history and is the highest-ranking woman to ever graduate from the United States Military Academy West Point. 

A graduate of George Washington School of Medicine, West completed residencies in Family Medicine and Dermatology, and has held various clinical, operational and leadership positions throughout her 30+ year career as a U.S. Soldier. 

West served as a Hauser Leader at the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership from 2019 to 2020 and serves on the boards of directors for Johnson & Johnson, Nucor Corporation and Tenet Healthcare Corporation.  She is a trustee of the National Recreation Foundation, an organization dedicated to enhancing the role of recreation as a positive force in improving the quality of life of youth. She is also a trustee of Americares, a non-profit that saves lives and improves health for people affected by poverty or disaster so they can reach their full potential.  West was recently selected as a trustee of the board of Mount St. Mary’s University and as a board member of the Bob Woodruff Foundation. 

Nadja West

Nadja West

U.S. Army Lieutenant General (Ret.), 44th Army Surgeon General and Former Commanding General of the U.S. Army Medical Command

Lieutenant General (Ret) Nadja West is the 44th U.S. Army Surgeon General, and the former Commanding General of U.S. Army Medical Command (USAMEDCOM). In 2015, West became the first African American woman 3-Star General in the Army’s history and is the highest-ranking woman to ever graduate from the United States Military Academy West Point.

A graduate of George Washington School of Medicine, West completed residencies in Family Medicine and Dermatology, and has held various clinical, operational and leadership positions throughout her 30+ year career as a U.S. Soldier.

West served as a Hauser Leader at the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership from 2019 to 2020 and serves on the boards of directors for Johnson & Johnson, Nucor Corporation and Tenet Healthcare Corporation.  She is a trustee of the National Recreation Foundation, an organization dedicated to enhancing the role of recreation as a positive force in improving the quality of life of youth. She is also a trustee of Americares, a non-profit that saves lives and improves health for people affected by poverty or disaster so they can reach their full potential.  West was recently selected as a trustee of the board of Mount St. Mary’s University and as a board member of the Bob Woodruff Foundation. 

Nadja West

Nadja West

U.S. Army Lieutenant General (Ret.), 44th Army Surgeon General and Former Commanding General of the U.S. Army Medical Command

Lieutenant General (Ret) Nadja West is the 44th U.S. Army Surgeon General, and the former Commanding General of U.S. Army Medical Command (USAMEDCOM). In 2015, West became the first African American woman 3-Star General in the Army’s history and is the highest-ranking woman to ever graduate from the United States Military Academy West Point.

A graduate of George Washington School of Medicine, West completed residencies in Family Medicine and Dermatology, and has held various clinical, operational and leadership positions throughout her 30+ year career as a U.S. Soldier.

West served as a Hauser Leader at the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership from 2019 to 2020 and serves on the boards of directors for Johnson & Johnson, Nucor Corporation and Tenet Healthcare Corporation.  She is a trustee of the National Recreation Foundation, an organization dedicated to enhancing the role of recreation as a positive force in improving the quality of life of youth. She is also a trustee of Americares, a non-profit that saves lives and improves health for people affected by poverty or disaster so they can reach their full potential.  West was recently selected as a trustee of the board of Mount St. Mary’s University and as a board member of the Bob Woodruff Foundation. 

Alberto Gonzales

Alberto Gonzales
Dean, Belmont University

The Honorable Alberto Gonzales is an accomplished and dedicated public servant who has been recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus of Rice University and received the Harvard Law School Association Award, the Central Intelligence Agency’s Director’s Award and the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service. His work in the Hispanic community and his achievements as a role model have also earned him recognition as Hispanic American of the Year by HISPANIC Magazine and one of The 25 Most Influential Hispanics in America by TIME Magazine.  

Judge Gonzales was nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the United States Senate as the 80th Attorney General of the United States in February 2005 and served in that capacity until September 2007. He has worked as a partner at a major Houston law firm -- Vinson & Elkins -- and held government positions as a Justice on the Texas Supreme Court, Texas Secretary of State, General Counsel to the Governor of Texas and Counsel to the President of the United States. 

Judge Gonzales became Dean of the law school in 2014 and presently holds the Doyle Rogers Distinguished Chair of Law. He teaches Constitutional Law, First Amendment Law, National Security Law, and Separation of Powers at Belmont Law. 

Presently Judge Gonzales is a member of the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions, the Commission for Uniform Legislation, and the American Law Institute. He also serves on the board of directors for the United Way of Metropolitan Nashville. Previously he served as an appointee to the Tennessee Governor’s Commission for Judicial Appointments and the Governor’s Management Fellows Executive Committee. 

After attending the United States Air Force Academy, Judge Gonzales received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rice University and a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard University. 

Jon Steinbrech

Jon Steinbrecher
Commissioner, Mid-American Conference

Dr. Jon A. Steinbrecher enters his 10th year with the Mid-American Conference (MAC) after being named the league’s eighth commissioner on March 16, 2009.  Steinbrecher is entering his 25th year as a Division I Commissioner and is the only active Commissioner to have served at all three NCAA Division I Subdivisions (FBS, FCS, DI).  

Steinbrecher orchestrated the development of the first of its kind Conference-wide Mental Health Program. He also established a Conference-wide comprehensive Diversity & Inclusion Program to accelerate the growth of minority candidates for collegiate job opportunities in coaching and administration. He also created the MAC Academic Consortium, which integrates across the Conference membership the next generation of leaders in higher education.  

Steinbrecher played an integral role in the development of the College Football Playoff and serves on the Administrative Executive Committee and the Site Selection Committee.  Steinbrecher led the MAC bid to host the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Midwest Regional and the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships, which the MAC set total attendance and single-session wrestling attendance records. He also developed and implemented a new Coaches Orientation program.  He was appointed to the NCAA Football Oversight Committee, NCAA Football Competition Committee and the NCAA Transfer Working Group.  

Steinbrecher has served on numerous NCAA committees, including the Division I Basketball Issues Committee, serving as a member of subcommittees for both men’s and women’s basketball, and in 1999 he became the first non-Division I-A commissioner elected as president of the Collegiate Commissioner’s Association (CCA). In June 2007, he was appointed to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Academic Enhancement Group by the late NCAA President Myles Brand.  He has served on the NCAA Division I Legislative Council, the NCAA Championship Cabinet, the NCAA Committee on Athletics Certification and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Issues Committee.   

Steinbrecher is currently Chair of the College Football Officiating Board of Managers and serves on the NCAA Football Oversight Committee, NCAA Football Competition Committee and NCAA Transfer Working Group. He has also served as Division I-AAA vice president of the CCA and as a member of the National Invitation Tournament’s District IV Advisory Board. He was the first non-FBS commissioner to serve as President of the CCA from 1997-99.  

Steinbrecher is a 1983 graduate of Valparaiso University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education and journalism. In 2006, he was bestowed an Alumni Achievement Award from his alma mater and in 2014 was inducted into the Valparaiso University Athletics Hall of Fame. Steinbrecher graduated with a master’s degree in sports administration from Ohio University in 1984, and he was awarded the doctorate of physical education in sports administration from Indiana University in 1989.  

An all-conference and academic all-conference selection in football and a conference champion in tennis, Steinbrecher was named Valparaiso’s and the Heartland Collegiate Conference’s StudentAthlete of the Year in 1983. In 2006, he was inducted into the Watauga County (N.C.) Sports Hall of Fame. 

Jeffrey G. Benz
JAMS, Inc.

Jeff Benz is an accomplished international and domestic commercial arbitrator and mediator, with a focus on entertainment, sports and technology. He is a former General Counsel of the US Olympic Committee, the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour and other sports entities, former counsel to independent film producers and directors, and a former international athlete. He is one of only approximately 400 Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) arbitrators and mediators worldwide and has served as arbitrator in cases involving several dozen different sports.  He is a member of the World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal and the PGA Tour and LPGA Anti-Doping Panels. 

Benz has served as a neutral in several hundred large and complex commercial arbitrations and mediations before the major administering global institutions, and as an advocate in many more. He is duly qualified in the US as a lawyer (California, Colorado, Hawaii, New York) and in England and Wales as a barrister, where he is a member of Lincoln’s Inn. He is a founding board member of the California International Arbitration Council.  

Benz is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the College of Commercial Arbitrators, a CEDR Accredited Mediator, and an IMI Certified Mediator. He is a Certified Electronic Discovery Specialist. He has AB and MBA degrees from the University of Michigan and a JD degree from the University of Texas.

David Shipley

David Shipley

Georgia Athletic Association Professor in Law

David Shipley joined the Georgia Law faculty as dean and professor of law in July 1998. He led the school through the completion of a strategic planning process, a $3.2 million renovation of several classrooms and the law library's Carl E. Sanders Reading Room, a school-wide technology upgrade, the creation of the director of advocacy position, the establishment of a new clinic and the successful passage of an American Bar Association site inspection. Under his leadership, there was a steady improvement of incoming student credentials. He resigned as dean in June 2003 to resume teaching full time. In 2012, he was awarded the Georgia Athletic Association Professorship in Law.

Shipley has been teaching courses on civil procedure, copyright, administrative law and remedies since returning to the classroom. He also helped establish the law school's semester abroad program at England's historic Oxford University. Established in 2006, Shipley served as the program's professor in residence at Oxford in 2007.

In 2010, Shipley was named the UGA Faculty Athletics Representative to the NCAA and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). His responsibilities include working with the Athletic Association to support the academic progress and success of UGA's student-athletes, serving as secretary to the Athletic Association's board of directors and helping monitor compliance with NCAA rules and regulations. In addition, he was chair of the University Council's executive committee and served on the boards of the University of Georgia Foundation and the University of Georgia Alumni Association from 2014 to 2016 and 2019 to 2020. In 2015 he was appointed to the Oberlin College Board of Trustees. 

Prior to coming to Georgia, Shipley was dean and professor at the University of Kentucky College of Law (1993-98); dean, director of the Law Center and professor at the University of Mississippi School of Law (1990-93); and associate dean for administrative affairs and professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law (1989-90). He joined the faculty at the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1977 as a visiting assistant professor after practicing law with the firm Tillinghast, Collins & Graham for two years in Providence, R.I. Additionally, he has served as a visiting professor at William & Mary (1983-84) and Ohio State (1986-87). 

Shipley earned his undergraduate degree in history with highest honors from Oberlin College and his law degree from the University of Chicago, where he was executive editor of The University of Chicago Law Review.