On the eve of basketball season, news and notes about the NCAA
The college basketball season tips off Tuesday afternoon and the NCAA on Monday released a draft of a new constitution that laid out, among other items, the governing body’s intent to relinquish its enforcement role. This substantial change will come not a moment too soon.
While specific details of what the new model entails remain to be seen, the draft said each division “shall determine the methods of investigation and adjudication to hold accountable its members whose representatives engage in behaviors that violate the rules and principles approved by the membership.”
The NCAA’s decision last week to reject Oklahoma State’s appeal and ban the Cowboys from this season’s men’s basketball tournament underscored why the enforcement arm needs a dramatic overhaul. Its investigative unit justifiably has been criticized over perceived selective enforcement and arbitrary punishments, not to mention the interminable years-long process of adjudicating many cases.
The NCAA serves as both judge and jury, and there are numerous issues. The enforcement arm long has been understaffed and underpaid. Investigations were severely limited by the lack of subpoena power. And for decades, it demonstrated a complete inability to get its arms around the complex power dynamics within the all-important summer basketball recruiting world, where individuals sometimes monetized their influence over top prospects and sneaker companies wielded excessive power.
The Oklahoma State case is one of many throughout the years that falls into the category of current athletes serving punishment for the sins committed by others in the past. But this situation stands out further because the wrongdoing revolves around a former assistant, Lamont Evans, allegedly accepting bribes to steer players to agents. Evans was fired in 2017. The school says no recruiting advantage was gained, no ineligible players used in games. Some of the current players were in middle school when the investigation began.
The draft of the constitution addressed two enforcement issues highlighted in the Oklahoma State case: a timely process and punishment of the innocent. The draft states that division and conference regulations must ensure to the greatest extent possible that penalties do not punish programs or athletes innocent of the infractions. And it lays out that investigations should be “consistent and timely” and decisions for minor infractions cases should be “prompt and proportionate.”
The investigative cloud has hovered over Oklahoma State for the past four years. Speaking to reporters last week, coach Mike Boynton’s voice choked with emotion as he expressed the depths of his disappointment and frustration with the infractions process. He even took the unusual step of mentioning by name the members of the enforcement staff and infractions committee involved in the case, individuals who rarely, if ever, speak publicly about their methods or the rationale behind decisions.
“It’s no wonder that nobody trusts them,” said Boynton, who became coach in 2017, “because they get to hide behind letters, COI (committee on infractions) . . . and they don’t have to come do this and answer questions and talk to kids and talk to parents.”
The most salient points were made by Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg, who noted that the four-and-a-half-year process was more than twice as long as the FBI’s original investigation. He said the NCAA’s national office has chosen to weaponize the men’s tournament against the very membership that has turned it into the financial lifeblood of the NCAA, whose revenue almost entirely stems from March Madness.
Calling the NCAA system “disconnected and broken,” Weiberg said the university took immediate action to remove Evans and began cooperating with the NCAA probe. For years, former members of the infractions committee have said cooperating with the NCAA on investigations will help mitigate eventual sanctions.
Not in this case. The Cowboys were banned from the postseason, a sanction that specifically punishes athletes who couldn’t be more removed from Evans’ transgressions. Weiberg said he’s concerned that it sends a “very chilling message” to schools that cooperating is not in your best interest.
“What message does it to send to membership that you can receive a postseason ban regardless of the fact the findings found no lack of institutional control, no head coach responsibility, no failure to monitor, no academic fraud or misconduct, no participation of ineligible players as a result of violations and no recruiting violation, a decision we believe has never happened before in the history of the NCAA,” he said.
The move by the NCAA to relinquish enforcement duties will be no consolation for Oklahoma State. But hopefully it will prevent athletes in the future from facing similar fates. It’s time to do away with the NCAA’s beleaguered enforcement arm.
Krzyzewski’s final season a defining theme
The season-long curtain call for Mike Krzyzewski — who will retire after his 42nd season at Duke — will be a defining theme of this college basketball season. One of the many impressive aspects of Krzyzewski’s remarkable tenure is how nimble he has been over four decades, reaching rarefied heights in markedly different eras.
Krzyzewski led Duke to the national title game in 1986 with four key seniors recruited and developed by him and his staff. He won two national titles (2001, 2010) when players were leaving school for the NBA draft after two or three seasons. And he deftly adjusted to the one-and-done era to win the 2015 title. Now he finishes his career during the first year of the NIL era.
Unsurprisingly, several Blue Devils open the season with NIL deals. Freshman Paolo Banchero, the potential top pick in next June’s draft, became the first college player to appear in the NBA 2K series and also to sign a trading card deal with Panini America. Wendell Moore Jr. and Joey Baker signed deals with popular chicken chain restaurant Bojangles. And at least five players made profiles on Cameo, a platform where celebrities earn money for sending personalized video messages to fans.
It’s a brave new world in college athletics, and Krzyzewski is again at the forefront, one last time.
A ‘RedZone’ for college basketball?
With the success of NFL RedZone, other leagues, namely Major League Baseball, have been exploring how to bring similar viewing concepts to consumers who wish to stay on top of key moments in key games as they occur in real time. Tonight, FS1 will give the concept a try starting at 6:30 p.m. ET with live look-ins on six non-conference games featuring Big East teams (Central Connecticut at UConn, IUPUI at Butler, Fairfield at Providence, Niagara at Xavier, Mississippi Valley State at St. John’s and Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Creighton).
Check out the whip-around Big East coverage for a glimpse of what could be coming in larger doses in the future. During March Madness, imagine one Turner channel featuring an extended live whip-around for NCAA tournament games, with Charles Barkley and Co. offering entertaining commentary. It could be an attractive viewing alternative.
Quick hits
+ In the wake of Texas and Oklahoma deciding to leave the Big 12 for the SEC, Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades suggested during August’s hearing before the Texas state senate that the school’s plans to build a new basketball arena could be in jeopardy because of potential revenue shortfalls. But Baylor’s Board of Regents is indeed moving forward on it, approving plans to build a new football operations facility and start working on a new basketball arena next summer. For the basketball pavilion, the board approved $1.2 million for additional design and pre-construction services. Groundbreaking is set for next summer. The project’s cost and location have yet to be revealed.
+ The Detroit Free Press examined documents that revealed that the Big Ten and MAC spent $40 million during the 2019-20 on food for athletes while they were on their home campuses. Some 80 percent of the money was spent on male athletes. At Eastern Michigan, in one instance, the women’s basketball team received $88 from the school to buy a holiday ham. The men’s team, on the other hand, received $397 to buy pink lemonade-flavored energy chew snacks.