Well, at least we did not go down without explaining ourselves first.
The UA released the notice of allegations it received from the NCAA on Friday night and did so after a judge in the Arizona Supreme Court ruled in favor of a lawsuit by ESPN this week. This includes allegations of five Level I offenses, considered the most serious, most of which have already been reported:
- Unethical recruitment behavior by former assistant coaches Book Richardson and Mark Phelps.
- Unethical conduct by Richardson for accepting bribes of $ 20,000, for which Richardson was arrested; he pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge and was sentenced to 3 months in prison.
- Unethical behavior by Phelps to solicit a UA player (Keanu Pinder) to remove texts related to an inadmissible loan of $ 500 he had given him, and also to lie to investigators.
- Head coach’s responsibility for Sean Miller because he did not prove that he promoted compliance
- Lack of institutional control against Arizona for the actions of the men’s basketball and swimming programs. The swimming program is accused of two Level II violations.
Phelps and Richardson are accused of numerous recruitment offenses, including allegations that Phelps hired other student athletes to help him recruit certain prospects.
Phelps and Pinder were both suspended in November 2017 for unspecified reasons, and in February 2019, Phelps was placed on administrative leave and eventually fired. It was apparently due to the then RA to commit Shareef O’Neal with an online class.
What is not listed in the NOA is related to the February 2018 reports, but ESPN claims Miller was caught in a federal eavesdropping (resulting from the FBI investigation that led to Richardson’s arrest) for a to discuss payment of $ 100,000 to insure DeAndre Ayton for Arizona would play.
Miller denied the allegation and said in March 2018 that he had never scientifically violated any NCAA rules. Everything mentions it in the NOA about him, related to his oversight of the program and an improper monitoring of Phelps and Richardson.
The UA itself imposed a ban on the season for this year in December, saying at the time that it was a proactive measure to respond that the assistant coaches had behaved badly, but otherwise the school remained silent on the subject.
The UA is also a look at Miller’s future since the 2020-21 season ended on Monday. Athletic director Dave Heeke made general statements about him and the school president Dr Robert Robbins plans to talk to Miller, but that’s it.
Miller, who is 302-109 in 12 seasons in Arizona, has one more year left on the contract he signed in 2017.