Big 12 commissioner speaks generally about Adidas trial and allegations involving KU

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby was asked by The Star on Wednesday what he thinks the NCAA and his conference should do regarding allegations about Kansas that have surfaced during the trial in New York involving corruption in college basketball recruiting.

“I really can’t weigh in on that at this point because the trial is not finished. It’s a linear process. The NCAA I’m sure is going to have steps to take after the trial is over. That will be for them to do. We’ll get involved in it as we’re invited to get involved in it,” Bowlsby said in a tunnel at the Sprint Center during Big 12 men’s basketball media day.

Bowlsby said the NCAA has knowingly stayed out of the process until the trial ends. He said he has followed the trial, which ended Wednesday afternoon with guilty verdicts.

“But I haven’t read the transcripts and I haven’t read the testimony verbatim,” he told The Star.

Regarding specific testimony that families of players were paid, Bowlsby said that “what gets said around court cases ... is not necessarily gospel.”

“I’ll react to those allegations when they become matters of fact,” he said. “At this point, they are not that.”

When asked how the allegations could become fact, Bowlsby said the subsequent process regarding allegations after the trial will involve the NCAA. At that point, the conference will get involved.

Asked if he is concerned, he said: “Yes I’m always concerned about integrity on a general basis and integrity on a specific basis as it pertains to the Big 12.”

Asked by CBSsports.com if the NCAA will have the administrative staff to tackle this issue, he said: “Part of the new enforcement process is outsourcing of some investigative components. There’s a different evaluative process. There’s also a for the lack of a better term a plea-bargain opportunity. All of those things are new. I don’t think it’s possible to know exactly how that is going to play itself out. I think everybody that’s involved in it believes that it will be a better process and a more effective process and that’s what all of us want.”

Kansas on Wednesday announced it will withhold sophomore Silvio De Sousa from games until an eligibility review is conducted. A $2,500 payment to his guardian was the subject of testimony during the trial.

Gary Bedore

Gary Bedore covers University of Kansas athletics for The Star.

This story was originally published October 24, 2018 at 10:14 AM.