Issue date: 3/5/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Mario Escobar Tarvish Felton sits next to Sac State player Justin Eller, left, as the Hornets are defeated by the Weber State Wildcats on Monday night's game. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Mario Escobar Felton, assistant coach for Sac State men's basketball, pays a $512 fine at the Sacramento County Superior Court on Feb. 27. [Click to enlarge]

On Feb. 27, Sacramento State men's basketball assistant coach Tarvish Felton pled no contest in Sacramento County Superior Court to driving under the influence.

Felton, 32, was arrested and taken into custody for DUI around 1:30 a.m. on Dec. 2 at J and 18th streets in Sacramento's midtown neighborhood. He was released from county jail the same day at 1:38 p.m.

At the time of his arrest, Felton had a 0.12 blood alcohol concentration level, which is a misdemeanor. The legal limit in California is 0.08.

In pleading no contest, Felton agreed not to dispute the charges against him. Pleading no contest to a charge holds the same consequences as being found guilty.

Superior Court Commissioner Craig Regan sentenced Felton to three years of unsupervised probation. In lieu of jail time, Felton was ordered to serve 48 hours with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department Work Project program. Fines and fees of $512 were also levied against him.

Felton was required by the court to enroll in a three-month DUI First Offenders Program at the A.F.T.E.R. Drunken Driving Program, located in Midtown Sacramento. Typically, DUI First Offenders Programs run three to four months and include classes and counseling.

Fees are required by the Sheriff's Work Project and the DUI First Offenders Program.

In addition to probation, taking classes and paying fines, Felton faces a one-year mandatory suspension of his driver's license.

As conditions of his probation, Felton cannot drive with any measurable alcohol in his system, must submit to a complete chemical test at the request of any peace officer and must enroll in and complete any court-ordered treatment program.

Sac State Director of Athletics Terry Wanless said the athletic department recognizes that some people make mistakes and deal with each situation as they come up.

"We have dealt with it on our end, and Coach Felton will have to deal with the legal situation," Wanless said.

Wanless did not detail how the athletic department had dealt with the situation.

"As far as we are concerned, it's over," Wanless said.

This is Felton's first year as assistant coach for the men's basketball team. He was hired for the position last July.

Felton was assistant coach for the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds men's basketball team last year. Felton also played basketball as a starter for three years for Southern Utah, from 1996 to 1999. He graduated from the same university in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in physical education.

"Tarvish Felton was a good coach at Southern Utah," said Neil Gardner, assistant athletic director and director of media relations at Southern Utah University. "Other than that, I have no comment."

Felton was assistant coach at California State University, Los Angeles from 2000 to 2002.

In 2002, Felton developed the Texas A&M International University men's basketball program in Laredo, Texas and served as its first head coach. The TAMIU team played its first season in 2003-04.

"I'm sad to hear about what happened to Coach Felton," said Dan Lathey, associate athletic director at TAMIU. "He did a great job when he was here."

Felton coached in a tough situation, Lathey said. Felton came to TAMIU and put together the university's National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II men's basketball program and had to play already-established teams, he said.

Felton had a combined record of 28 wins and 64 losses as head coach for the 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons.

Like Sac State, TAMIU has no specific policies regarding coaches being convicted of crimes like DUI, Lathey said. Situations are dealt with on a case-by-case basis depending on the severity of what happened.

"We let the law take its course and decide where to go from there," he said.

The NCAA also does not have specific policies regarding legal issues with coaches.

"It is the responsibility of each member institution to control its intercollegiate athletics program in compliance with the rules and regulations of the Association. The institution's president or chancellor is responsible for the administration of all aspects of the athletics program," according to NCAA bylaws.

NCAA Associate Director of Public and Media Relations Jennifer Kearns said coaches, or any other athletics personnel, who are involved in criminal activities must be handled by individual institutions and local law enforcement.

"It should be understood that coaches at NCAA member institutions should display ethical conduct display behavior that makes them good role models for student-athletes," Kearns said.

Felton and representatives from the Sac State men's basketball team declined to comment.

Todd Wilson can be reached at twilson@statehornet.com.

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