SEATTLE -- A former football program manager and a former graduate assistant football coach have been implicated in a University of Washington fraud investigation that found more than $40,000 in unauthorized long distance phone-card charges.

The probe focused on charges between September 1998 and February 2002, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Saturday.

Head football coach Rick Neuheisel, who was hired in January 1999, was told last week that the university had "just cause'' to fire him amid revelations that he participated in a neighborhood gambling pool involving the past two NCAA basketball tournaments. Coaches are not allowed to gamble on college sports under NCAA rules. He is undergoing a termination process that is expected to take several weeks.

The phone calls did not involve any current or former members of the football team or other student athletes, Athletics Department director Barbara Hedges told the P-I on Friday after the newspaper learned of the completed audit.

The audit said using university long-distance privileges for personal use is a violation of state ethics law. Involvement of student athletes could be considered a secondary violation of NCAA regulations.

Neither of the men is currently employed by the UW.

No names were provided in the audit report, which was submitted to the Board of Regents in January. UW officials declined to provide the men's names Friday, the newspaper said.

The P-I found the audit report in documents requested under the state's Public Disclosure Act for the newspaper's inquiry into Neuheisel's termination.

The probe focused on an AT&T calling card issued in 1998 to the graduate assistant coach. He was promoted to football program assistant by Neuheisel during the audit period.

The assistant resigned in June 2002 and has agreed to pay back $5,401, the audit said.

The former football manager admitted making personal calls using the program assistant's card, but has not made restitution, the audit said. His case has been turned over for collection, said Paul King, associate athletic director for business and finance.

"We made every effort to collect the money prior to turning it over to collections,'' Hedges said.

Charges could be filed against the program manager if restitution isn't made.

The phone charges continued after Hedges' staff detected the problem, the card was canceled and a new number and calling card were issued, the newspaper said.

"We noted that even after the program assistant was informed of the problem of personal calls on his AT&T calling card, he continued to place personal calls on his newly issued calling card,'' the investigation found.

Charges on the two calling cards totaled $48,485 for the period between September 1998 and February 2002. King estimated that at least $40,000 of the total was "possibly for personal use.''

The report to the regents, which was approved without comment, notes that a fraud reporting policy was started on campus in 1997 but frauds continue to occur.

Hedges and King said the sports program has changed its phone-card plan.

"They're very expensive cards. We don't use them any more,'' Hedges said.

Under the new plan, the same charges would have amounted to about $6,000, rather than $40,000, according to King and Hedges.

The audit recommends that Hedges' staff be informed that "personal long distance charges will no longer be allowed even if they are reimbursed.''

Employees are supposed to review all charges each month and certify that all calls are for university business.