The National Collegiate Athletic Association placed California State University at Fresno on four years' probation on Wednesday, citing "a lack of appropriate institutional control" and such violations as academic fraud and ineligible play by members of the university's men's basketball team. The probation is retroactive to December, 2002, when the university adopted voluntary, self-imposed sanctions, including a ban last season on men's basketball postseason play and the elimination of three men's basketball scholarships.

The NCAA has also mandated that Fresno State return 90 percent of the money earned during its appearance in the 2000 NCAA tournament and that the team's participation in the tournament be expunged from the record.

The association's Division I Committee on Infractions released a report detailing various violations of NCAA rules, including an arrangement by a former team statistician and the team's former academic adviser to provide written papers for two players and a prospective student; a player's receipt of financial aid without being enrolled as a full-time student; the use of correspondence courses to meet eligibility requirements, and player benefits such as complimentary tickets and cash travel stipends.

Some violations were also associated with Fresno State's women's basketball team and men's soccer team.

Despite the infraction committee's findings, the report commended Fresno State's president, John D. Welty, for "demonstrating the university's commitment to accepting responsibility for these violations" by ordering the university's self-imposed sanctions last year. The committee announced it would accept those sanctions in the report.

During a telephone news conference on Wednesday, Thomas Yeager, the chairman of the panel, said the committee was justified in praising Mr. Welty even as it condemned problems at the university he leads. "The violations and lack of institutional control broke down at a level far removed from the president's office," said Mr. Yeager, who is also commissioner of the Colonial Athletic Association.

Mr. Welty said he appreciated the NCAA's acceptance of Fresno State's own disciplinary actions. "We acknowledge that there were clearly areas that needed addressing," he said in a prepared statement. "Now, with our corrective measures and positive progress in these areas, we can put the problems behind us."