Arizona Basketball to bring the fight to the NCAA
With the NCAA releasing their findings of multiple, Level-One allegations, the Arizona Basketball program is going to fight the allegations.
It has been a wild few days for the Arizona Basketball program, especially as we now know of what was put in the Notice of Allegations that were reportedly brought to the program.
Making news just days ago was the fact that the Wildcats were reportedly given five Level-One sanctions. Which make no mistake, is very severe.
Arizona Wildcats
What I found to be rather interesting, is that in the report, none of those Level-One sanctions are tied to the Wildcats for having any recruiting violations. Instead, all the allegations are tied to a Lack of Institutional Control by head coach Sean Miller (which I could have seen coming), and various charges about the University failing to Monitor and Self-Report.
To me, that last point is a rather confusing one. From what I understand, the NCAA is trying to establish that the Wildcats did not work with them to allow the investigation to continue.
Maybe I am biased here, but the FBI was conducting their own investigation, which was trying to find illegal and criminal activity, not if Arizona broke any NCAA governing rules.
Remember, former Arizona assistant Book Richardson already plead guilty back in January 2019 after admitting to accepting $20,000 in bribes according to the Arizona Daily Star.
He was the centerpiece in all of this, and there’s no denying his involvement in the matter. However, what others may not recall is that Miller, Deandre Ayton, Rawle Alkins, Jahvon Quinerly, et al. were already investigated by the FBI and cleared.
The money and pay in question, never seemingly exchanged hands which is what the NCAA should have a bigger issue with. And like I said, they found Zero recruiting violations.
Now I am not saying Arizona are complete saints here because ultimately all that happens under Miller is his responsibility, which is why I can understand the Lack of Institutional Control charge.
What my issue is, and the schools’ issue is are the allegations about the Wildcats not reporting, or not working with the NCAA, especially in the Mark Phelps case in particular.
To me, it seems the NCAA was mad they could not find anything substantive on Arizona, so they went with throwing everything including the kitchen sink, hoping to see what sticks.
That doesn’t really show impartiality or fairness in their investigative process, if their ultimate goal is to make an example out of Arizona.
As a result, the University will have their case reviewed by the Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP) in hopes that they will have a better outcome.
It is apparent Arizona is going to fight the initial findings, in hopes that they can establish and show they were compliant through the investigation process. The only thing is that if it goes through the IARP, whatever they find, there is no ability to appeal at that point.
It is also worth noting, that because the school is going through the IARP, those results may not come for another year, which may just be delaying the inevitable. However, it seems pertinent for the Wildcats to at least get an independent review.
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At Zona Zealots, we support the schools’ decision to fight it, considering Kansas also has five Level-One allegations, with their coach having actually texted an Adidas rep, and the media coverage has been silent. We just want a fair process, and given what we know to be true and factual, hopefully, that results in a more favorable outcome. As always, Bear Down, Arizona!