Kansas Sees NCAA Charges, Responds Aggressively

Kansas heard from the NCAA Monday and got the dreaded “lack of institutional control” charge along with three Level I violations and a head coach responsibility hit on Bill Self as well. Football also got minor charges too which is probably nothing to worry about and certainly not the focus.

This did not go over well in Lawrence, where KU said it would “fiercely dispute” (read: we’ll sue) the charges.

Chancellor Douglas Girod said this in a release: “The University of Kansas has high standards of ethical conduct for all of our employees, and we take seriously any conduct that is antithetical to our values and mission. While we will accept responsibility for proven violations of NCAA bylaws, we will not shy away from forcefully pushing back on allegations that the facts simply do not substantiate. We stand firmly behind Coach [Bill] Self and our men’s basketball program, and we will continue to work diligently to do what is right.”

Self was more aggressive: “By the NCAA’s own admission through its public statements early this summer, it’s no secret that there is tremendous pressure on the NCAA to respond to the federal court proceedings involving college basketball. Compelled to reassure member institutions and the general public that it can police its member institutions, the NCAA enforcement staff has responded in an unnecessarily aggressive manner in submitting today’s unsubstantiated Notice of Allegations, and I, as well as the University, will vigorously dispute what has been alleged.”

Translated: you got nothing to pin on me, copper! Nothing!

Basically it comes down to this: the NCAA believes that Self and his staff knew about payments and actions against NCAA rules coming from Adidas. Self denies it.

After hearing the testimony in the Adidas trials, we’d have a hard time believing Self didn’t know but it’s possible that he didn’t. It’s hard to say without clear evidence (although the charge against Self, to an extent, is different. Under new-ish NCAA rules, a head coach is responsible or everything his staff does. So they don’t actually have to prove anything about Self in that scenario).

What is clear though is this: from here on out almost every school is going to look at how UNC brazened its way through multiple scandals and ultimately, if people think they can get away with it, just go for it. Which, to us anyway, is what Kansas seems to be doing here.

• Notice of allegations news could impact KU recruiting long before results on the court
• Update: KU officials confirm they have received notice of NCAA violations; will ‘fiercely dispute’ charges