Monday, August 14, 2006
BALTIMORE — A little more than eight hours after marching into a meeting room at the Tremont Hotel to discuss violations of NCAA rules, a group of Kansas officials emerged looking stonefaced and serious.
What exactly went on behind those doors will remain unknown for what Chancellor Robert Hemenway described as at least five to seven more weeks, but what will transpire once a decision is reached is now more clear.
Attorney Rick Evrard said that the University will be notified that the NCAA has reached a decision 48 hours before it is made public. Within 24 hours, the University will be made aware of the decision. Finally, a press conference will be scheduled to make the NCAA’s decision public.
While what was said at the meeting is being held close to the vest, some information can be gleaned from the reactions of various meeting participants.
The hearing began at 8 a.m., with participants taking breaks every few hours. Following an hour-long break for lunch, the meeting resumed and was said to be moving quickly.
All did not seem as well later in the afternoon, however. An unidentified official with the NCAA who was asked how the meeting was progressing sighed and shook her head. Shortly thereafter, associate athletics director Jim Marchiony indicated the meeting had hit a wall.
The committee took a final break about 4:30 p.m., but dismissed less than half an hour later.
The hearing moves Kansas’ violation case closer to completion. What remains to be determined is whether self-imposed sanctions will be approved by the NCAA.
The NCAA is expected to announce additional sanctions — if any — against Kansas by mid-October.
The Kansas Athletics Department placed itself on two years of probation and the football and women’s basketball programs had several scholarships stripped as part of Hemenway’s punishment, as reported initially to the NCAA last summer.
The most serious charge facing the University is an allegation of “lack of institutional control” stemming from violations by the department between 1997 and 2003. The University reported violations in its football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball programs.
The University hopes through its appearance at the hearing Sunday to have the “lack of institutional control” label removed and replaced with the less severe “lack of monitoring.”
The Kansas contingent included some of the University’s most recognized faces; Hemenway, Athletics Director Lew Perkins, men’s basketball coach Bill Self, women’s basketball coach Bonnie Henrickson and football coach Mark Mangino.
Evrard, the attorney representing the University for the purpose of investigating and reporting these violations, was Kansas’ main speaker, those in the meeting said.
When approached at the airport as he left Baltimore, Evrard declined to comment further, choosing to re-emphasize what the Chancellor had already said.
All of the meeting participants were instructed by the infractions committee not to directly comment on the proceedings, other than the brief, prepared statement Hemenway issued after the meeting.
“We reaffirmed to the committee our absolute commitment to NCAA rules compliance,” Hemenway said, flanked by Perkins and Marchiony. “We felt the committee asked good questions, took their time, listened well and allowed us to fully explain our answers.”
Hemenway added that the University would have no further comment on the matter until the committee announces its final decision.
When asked what the committee’s ruling might be, Perkins declined to discuss specifics.
“It would be crazy to speculate,” Perkins said.
Self, Mangino, and Henrickson said they were also unable to comment.
“I can’t say anything,” Mangino said. “The committee has asked me not to say anything further.”
NCAA committee members and those that investigated the Kansas case also declined to comment.
Among the most serious charges leveled against the University are academic fraud violations in the football program. The NCAA’s notice of allegations also included impermissable benefits violations by the men’s basketball program, including the case involving current player Darnell Jackson.
Violations in the women’s basketball program included impermissable transportation given to recruits.
Kansan senior staff writer Ryan Schneider can be contacted at rschneider@kansan.com.
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