FORT WORTH -- Texas Tech's athletic department kept ordering a highly caffeinated energy drink for more than a year after the NCAA warned the school that excessive amounts of the beverage could lead to positive drug tests, a newspaper reported Tuesday.

A November 2002 e-mail from Mary Wilfert, NCAA assistant director for education outreach, warned compliance officials at Tech and other Big 12 schools that the drink Jacked could cause positive drug tests when consumed at high levels because it contains caffeine, a stimulant banned by the NCAA, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

But after the university's chief compliance officer received the warning, Tech still ordered Jacked among its supplements 18 times over the next 14 months, the newspaper found.

In that time, the school spent $44,000 for nearly 30,000 bottles of the drink, which is advertised as containing 200 milligrams of caffeine per single-serving bottle.

"The NCAA recommendation is not to use caffeine in a supplement form," Wilfert wrote in the e-mail, which the Star-Telegram received after filing a records request under the Texas Public Information Act.

Pat Britz, Tech's chief compliance officer, declined to be interviewed by the newspaper. He said in an e-mail that he couldn't discuss the matter because it was going to be in a report to the NCAA.

In December, the newspaper reported that Tech athletic officials -- including athletic director Gerald Myers, basketball coach Bob Knight and football coach Mike Leach -- approved requisitions for dietary supplements, including some containing ephedra and other banned stimulants, that a now-fired sports nutrition expert said were needed.

Aaron Shelley, who was fired in February 2004, received approval to purchase products such as Thermo Speed, advertised to contain 340 milligrams of ephedra per 20-ounce bottle, and Jacked.

Shelley, 37, has since pleaded guilty to a money laundering charge, accused of defrauding the school of nearly $500,000. He has not yet been sentenced.

There was no indication in the records whether the supplements were delivered to the school, the newspaper has reported.

Caffeine is among some 30 stimulants banned by the NCAA because high doses can cause a positive drug test.

The e-mail from Wilfert of the NCAA cited a bylaw which lets schools only provide student-athletes with so-called "nonmuscle-building" supplements including carbohydrate/electrolyte drinks, energy bars, carbohydrate boosters and vitamins and minerals.

The bylaw also says schools should not distribute supplements containing a banned substance.

"Caffeine's not banned," Leach said. "It's the quantity that dictates whether it's banned."

When told that regardless of the amount, the NCAA bars schools from distributing supplements containing banned substances, he said, "Well, look, I've got Pat Britz who handles that. I trust his judgment more than yours."