A former UMSL golf coach, who runs a multimillion-dollar fantasy sports organization, has landed the school on probation for two years from the NCAA for major violations regarding sports wagering and unethical conduct.

The coach, Dustin Ashby, employed a volunteer assistant coach and used three UMSL golfers in running part of the operations of GridIron Fantasy Sports, a company with revenue between $2.8 million and $3 million, the NCAA report said.

Ashby, who resigned as golf coach in August 2009, said Saturday morning that he was sorry to have put the university in this position but glad that none of the student-athletes would be punished. The volunteer assistant coach and players were not named in the NCAA report.

UMSL also was cited in the report for "failure to monitor" its program.

"There were no findings of academic or recruitment violations, or that UMSL equipment or resources were involved," school spokesman Bob Samples said. "UMSL will not appeal the ruling and will abide by all the conditions of its probation."

University Chancellor Thomas George and Athletics Director Lori Flanagan declined to comment beyond the statement.

UMSL competes in five men's and six women's NCAA sports. The probation and public censure does not impact the school's participation in postseason competition.

Ashby, who coached at the school from 2004-09, is on NCAA probation for three years and must 'show cause" if he is to be allowed to coach again at an NCAA institution.

"He was a part-owner and facilitated all fantasy league competitions for a multimillion-dollar operation," said Wendy Taylor May, chairwoman of the NCAA Division II committee on infractions. "He failed to disclose the involvement of student-athletes. … When the institution received information that the golf coach was possibly involved in gambling, it did limited investigations."

The NCAA, which does not allow sports wagering by any players or staff, added fantasy leagues to its rules in 2007.

But the violations at UMSL were more than just individuals joining a league and deciding to draft Steven Jackson.

Instead, the NCAA report says, Ashby bought an online fantasy football enterprise in 2007 and oversaw its operations as managing partner. Gridiron Fantasy Sports was formed under Ashby's 360 Sports Marketing company and was founded for the purpose of purchasing the World Championship of Fantasy Football, the NCAA said.

An entry fee of $1,750 is required to participate in the WCOFF, and up to 1,200 teams can participate. Cash prizes are awarded to top finishers, with the overall winner receiving $300,000. Over $1.6 million is awarded, and GFS revenue is between $2.8 million and $3 million.

In 2007 and 2008, as the part-owner and managing partner of GFS and WCOFF, Ashby was involved in sports wagering activities through his oversight of fantasy football league competitions for the two entities, the NCAA said.

Ashby's volunteer golf coach at UMSL worked on a contract basis for the website and one year traveled to Las Vegas to oversee one of the live drafts.

The NCAA also said Ashby was not forthcoming during the investigation and tried to hide the fact that three players were working for the fantasy sites.

The NCAA report also said the university, despite receiving a tip in December 2008 that Ashby, who received a part-time salary from UMSL, was involved in online sports wagering, did not adequately follow up to determine whether he was involved in any violations despite knowing he owned a sports marketing company.

Ashby, a former St. Louis District Golf champion who played at UMSL in the late 1990s and is a former general manager at WingHaven, has been a St. Louis-area media figure when it comes to golf, hosting a radio show in recent years that has had incarnations on several area stations. (He often was joined on the show by Post-Dispatch writer Dan O'Neill.) Ashby's WCOFF website also includes a weekly fantasy column by the Post-Dispatch's Jeff Gordon.