Related Links:
» University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Public Infractions Report

NCAA Press Release Archive

« back to archive | Back to NCAA.org

Tennessee Former Head Coach Cited for Men's Basketball Violations


Embargoed Until

Wednesday, August 24, 2011, 3 p.m. Eastern time

Contact(s)

Stacey Osburn
Associate Director of Public and Media Relations
317/917-6117
 


INDIANAPOLIS --- The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, failed to monitor its men's basketball program, according to findings announced today by the Division I Committee on Infractions. As part of the findings, the former head men's basketball coach was cited for failure to monitor and unethical conduct for providing "false and misleading information" and asking others to do the same. In addition, three former assistant men's basketball coaches were cited for a failure to cooperate with the investigation.

Penalties include a show-cause order for the former head men's basketball coach, which prohibits him from engaging in recruiting activity for three years at any NCAA member school. Each of the three former assistant men's basketball coaches received a one-year show-cause order, which also prohibits recruiting activity. In addition to the 20 penalties self-imposed by the university and conference and agreed to by the infractions committee, Tennessee must also serve two years of probation. The public report provides greater detail on these penalties.

While the investigation included allegations of major violations in the football program, the committee concluded that the evidence was insufficient to support findings of major violations.

However, the committee stated it was "troubled by the number and nature of the secondary infractions by the football coaching staff during its one-year tenure at the institution."

The football staff committed 12 secondary violations over 10 months, all of which were related to recruiting.

While the basketball violations stemmed from impermissible recruiting contact and phone calls, the committee stated the most serious allegations included the former coaching staff's provision of false and misleading information and their encouragement of others to do the same, including recruits and a parent.

"Head coaches bear primary responsibility for monitoring all aspects of their programs and promoting an atmosphere for compliance," stated the committee report. "It is also presumed that head coaches know or should know of violations in their programs, particularly when the violations occur over an extended period of time."

The men's basketball violations began when three prospects and their families attended a dinner at the home of the former head coach in conjunction with their unofficial visits to the school. After they spent some time at the dinner, the former head coach ushered the prospects and their families to an outdoor veranda. According to the committee, he informed them that their attendance was a violation of NCAA rules and encouraged them to not disclose their presence to others. 

The former head coach did not report the violations and denied knowledge of them when later questioned during the investigation. Further, he placed a series of phone calls to a prospect's father in an effort to influence him to make false and misleading statements during the investigation. The former head coach later provided truthful information to investigators during a subsequent interview.

The three former assistant coaches did not cooperate with the investigation when they failed to provide full and complete information to the university and NCAA enforcement staff. Two of the assistant coaches compromised the integrity of the investigation when they shared information among themselves regarding their interviews, according to committee findings.

The investigation also revealed the men's basketball coaching staff placed 94 impermissible phone calls to 12 prospects over two years. The committee found these violations were not discovered in a timely fashion, which led to the failure to monitor by the university and the former head coach.

The public report details each of the penalties self-imposed by the university or conference and adopted by the committee. The additional penalties imposed by the committee include:

The Division I Committee on Infractions is an independent group comprised of representatives across NCAA membership and the public. The committee members who reviewed this case include Dennis Thomas, the commissioner of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and chair of the Committee on Infractions. Other members are Britton Banowsky, commissioner of Conference USA and vice-chair of committee; John Black, attorney; Melissa Conboy, deputy director of athletics at the University of Notre Dame; Brian Halloran, attorney; Eleanor Myers, faculty athletics representative and law professor at Temple University; and James O'Fallon, law professor and faculty athletics representative for the University of Oregon.