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((Ross William Hamilton/The Oregonian))

EUGENE -- Over the last three seasons, the Oregon Ducks have the sixth-best record in college football. The Ducks played for a College Football Playoff national championship, produced their first Heisman Trophy winner, three first-round draft picks, won a Pac-12 title, a Rose Bowl and two more games than anyone else in the Pac-12 during that span.

Oregon has won 33 games and lost just eight over the last three years, and all of those wins, and losses, came while the athletic department was under probation.

As of late June, however, the three years of probation handed down by the NCAA after major rules violations came to an end.

It was a day that wasn't exactly met with raucous fanfare in Eugene.

"I don't think there's anything significantly (different)," Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said. "We have a culture of excellence that includes compliance at the very front of that, and always have had."

It was three years ago that the NCAA Committee on Infractions found that Oregon paid Willie Lyles, a Texas-based talent scout, $25,000 in March of 2011 for his influence and access to recruits. The NCAA imposed punishment for Oregon, which included:

* Three years of probation from June 26, 2013, through June 25, 2016.

* An 18-month show-cause order for former head coach Chip Kelly.

* A reduction of initial football scholarships by one from the maximum allowed (25) during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 academic years.

* A reduction of total football scholarships by one from the maximum allowed (85) during the 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 academic years.

* A reduction of official paid football visits to from 56 to 37 for the 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 academic years.

* A reduction of permissible football evaluation days from 42 to 36 in the fall of 2013, 2014 and 2015 and permissible football evaluation days from 168 to 144 in the spring of 2014, 2015 and 2016.

* A ban on the subscription to recruiting services during the probation period.

The 28-month investigation and the resulting punishments were tedious for Oregon, though a collective sigh of relief from fans resulted when the punishment, considered relatively minor, was levied. Oregon avoided any bowl ban, which could have cost the Ducks trips to two Alamo Bowls, a Rose Bowl and the national championship game.

Mullens, who was hired by Oregon before the penalties were announced, but after the infractions took place, said he never knew if any sort of bowl ban was on the table. And despite what many called a slap on the wrist in terms of penalties, he said the Ducks were punished significantly.

"At the elite level that we're competing at, anything that reduces the exposure that you have in a game that is very very close, where the reality is we don't have some of the natural advantages that others have (hurts)," Mullens said. "Having those young people come visit Eugene is a huge asset for us."

Of all of the punishments, the reduction of recruits' visits to Eugene had the biggest impact on Oregon. Essentially, Mullens said the hardest part of convincing kids to play for Oregon is getting them to visit campus, where they can meet with coaches and see Oregon's lavish facilities. Once they get kids in the door, they have a high yield rate in terms of commitments, he said.

Oregon coach Mark Helfrich didn't disagree with that assessment, though he added one of Oregon's best tools is getting athletes to take unofficial visits prior to their senior years of high school, before they can start taking official visits.

"The biggest thing for us is getting people to come here in June," Helfrich said. "If we have to wait until their senior year, the track record and percentages are much lower."

According to 24/7 Sports, Oregon's average recruiting class ranking over the last three seasons has been 21.66. In the three years prior, it was 14.66. That can't solely be attributed to sanctions, however, because there are too many variables, such as a different coaching staff.

In short, the sanctions may have limited Oregon, but the overall impact on the quality of the football program has been minimal.

That hasn't stopped the university from implementing changes to avoid such a situation in the future.

Mullens stressed the importance of compliance education throughout the entire athletic department. It's the responsibility of everyone under the Oregon umbrella to take pride in doing things the right way, he said.

"That's where we're making the biggest concerted shift," he said. "How do we educate 250 employees, 450 student athletes and thousands of donors? What methods can we use to make it fresh and understandable?"

Coaches and heads of operations are now required to attend monthly meetings in which chief compliance officer Jody Sykes outlines new rules and ways to avoid infractions.

A recent meeting went over NCAA recruiting services, which Oregon will be allowed to subscribe to again now that the probation has lifted.

(See below the story for presentation)

"The ship wasn't really broken, it just needed a little tweaking to get better," said Sykes, who was hired in June of 2013. "An infraction occurred and there was a Committee on Infractions hearing and we were on probation. There were things that needed to be cleaned up, but we weren't sunk. The ship needed to get upright, but we weren't totally under water."

Mullens, Helfrich and Sykes all noted that leaks can occur. Whether there's a new rule, an oversight or human error, there is nothing that will 100 percent guarantee that Oregon won't draw NCAA scrutiny in the future.

But three years ago, Oregon went through a process that was strenuous, probing and ultimately hurtful to the athletic department, despite the football program's recent success. It's something that Mullens said they're doing everything they can to avoid in the future.

"The length it took to even get to a decision was somewhat of a punishment," he said. "When you go through that once, you never want to go through it again."

-- Tyson Alger

talger@oregonian.com

@tysonalger