With his university having just received another NCAA Notice of Allegations, Louisville Athletics Director Vince Tyra was asked in a virtual news conference Monday whether he feared U of L men’s basketball would get the death penalty.
“I get that where we are as a repeat offender, people are going to be provocative and push strong language and it makes for interesting reading,” Tyra said. “But (the death penalty) is not what I foresee, for sure.”
The NCAA is alleging Louisville committed four significant infractions in the case arising out of the FBI investigation into college basketball recruiting corruption.
One of the alleged violations is considered “Level One,” the most severe charge the NCAA can levy. The other three are “Level Two,” meaning they are deemed significant.
In 2017, Louisville was awaiting NCAA justice for the infamous strippers/sex parties for recruits scandal. Yet at the same time, people the NCAA now considers to be representatives of U of L basketball were caught on FBI wiretaps allegedly scheming to spend thousands of dollars in the pursuit of at least two prospects.
In spite of that history, Louisville was not charged by the NCAA with a “lack of institutional control.”
That’s why Monday’s news was not nearly as bad as it could have been for U of L.
“There was no lack of institutional control,” Tyra said. “I will say, that is key.”
Former Cardinals head coach and new Iona College head man Rick Pitino — on whose watch both Louisville scandals occurred — did not get a “show-cause” penalty recommended by the NCAA. Pitino’s former assistants Jordan Fair and Kenny Johnson both did, however.
The Level One violation Louisville is charged with includes: The effort by representatives of Adidas, U of L’s athletics apparel provider, to secure the services of a recruit (whose name is redacted but has been widely reported to have been forward Brian Bowen) for the Cardinals with what the NCAA dubs “a $100,000 impermissible recruiting offer.”
In the allegation, Adidas is identified as “a representative of (Louisville’s) athletics interests.”
Then-Adidas employees James Gatto and Merl Code and aspiring sport agent Christian Dawkins are alleged to have arranged an “extra benefit” of $25,000 in cash that was paid after the redacted prospect enrolled at U of L.
The NOA also alleges Fair “violated the NCAA principles of ethical conduct when he was knowingly involved in the provision of an impermissible (recruiting) inducement in the form of between $11,000 and $12,700.” That was allegedly paid to summer coach Brad Augustine to secure another player whose name is redacted (said in media reports to have been 7-foot center Balsa Koprivica).
Johnson, meanwhile, is accused by the NCAA of violating “the principles of ethical conduct when he knowingly provided an extra benefit in the form of a $1,300 cash payment” to a redacted name (said in media reports to have been Bowen’s father, Brian Sr.).
The three Level Two violations alleged include:
Johnson and Fair providing impermissible transportation and having impermissible contact in the context of recruiting activities;
Pitino violating “head coach responsibility legislation when he failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance within the men’s basketball program.”
And, as a university, U of L is accused of failing to “adequately monitor its men’s basketball program’s recruitment” of a prospect identified as a “McDonald’s All-American” (presumed to be Bowen).
No one charged by name in the NOA is still affiliated with the University of Louisville.
Both Louisville President Neeli Bendapudi and Tyra emphasized that U of L was going to vigorously “push back” against NCAA allegations if the university determined they lacked sufficient underlying evidence.
That seemed to be a nod to the belief held in some corners of the Cardinals fan base that Louisville did not fight the NCAA hard enough during the strippers/sex parties scandal. That ended with U of L vacating its 2013 national title and a 2012 Final Four trip.
As punishment in the current case, it would not be unfair if U of L receives an NCAA Tournament ban of at least one year.
Asked if Louisville would self-impose such a penalty — as a prior Louisville administration did in 2015-16 in response to the escorts scandal — Bendapudi emphatically answered “No.”
The killer when a college sports program becomes linked with an NCAA probe is uncertainty. Louisville receiving the Notice of Allegations for its most recent scandal is a major step toward moving out of that precariousness.
Tyra praised current U of L Coach Chris Mack — who left a very good head coaching job at Xavier in 2018 to take on the task of guiding Louisville down its uncertain path — “for not making excuses.”
In a Louisville news release, Mack said “The future is bright for Cardinal Basketball.”
One never knows with the NCAA, of course, but after Monday Louisville’s basketball future looks better than it easily might have.
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