NEW YORK -- A Miami correspondence academy that drew the scrutiny of the NCAA and state officials amid growing concerns about "diploma mills" is shutting down, the school's founder told The New York Times.
"It's a disaster," Stanley J. Simmons told the newspaper for Saturday's editions. "I'm finishing up everything, and I'm going back into retirement."
University High School had no classrooms, teachers or teams, but it helped numerous athletes quickly earn diplomas, the Times first reported in November. The newspaper reported that University High graduated at least 14 students who signed with Division I football programs over the past two years. Because the school is private, students did not have to take Florida's state-mandated exit exam.
The Miami-Dade state prosecutor's office and the NCAA recently began investigations into the school's legitimacy. Ed Griffith, a spokesman for the state prosecutor, told the Times his office was awaiting returns from subpoenas in its investigation of the school over possible fraud.
Simmons founded the school in 2000 but sold it about 14 months ago to Michael R. Kinney, who operated it for him for years, the Times reported. Simmons said Kinney defaulted on his monthly payment after the Times wrote about the school, prompting state investigations.
Kinney could not be reached for comment by the newspaper. Calls to the school Saturday weren't answered, and no message could be left because the voice mailbox was full.
A leasing agent told the Times on Friday that University High School had vacated its unit in an office building in Miami.
The Times also reported that the NCAA created a 17-person panel, which includes three school presidents, on Friday to study correspondence high schools and other nontraditional routes to college athletic eligibility and scholarships. NCAA president Myles Brand wants the panel to propose tighter rules by the summer.
Simmons, 75, who taught in Miami schools before opening a number of correspondence schools, served 10 months in a federal prison camp after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud in 1989. Kinney was charged with marijuana possession in 2003 and wanted on a bench warrant.