NC State basketball gets IARP ruling. Will precedent affect KU Jayhawks’ NCAA case?
The NCAA’s new Independent Accountability Resolution Process issued its first ruling, and it did not include a postseason ban.
That’s the most significant headline from an announcement regarding North Carolina State on Monday afternoon. Following the IARP’s investigation into former coach Mark Gottfried’s staff and a $40,000 payment made to former player Dennis Smith Jr. and family, the men’s basketball program, in part, will get:
• one year of probation;
• loss of a future scholarship;
• a $5,000 fine;
• 15 victories vacated.
Gottfried and former assistant Orlando Early, however, faced much harsher punishments. Gottfried received a one-year “show cause,” while Early’s punishment was a six-year show cause, essentially a suspension from coaching in the NCAA. Gottfried, now the head coach at Cal State Northridge, has been on administrative leave there.
The biggest question locally, though, is this: How will this ruling impact Kansas, if at all? KU’s athletic program is also on the IARP track for its violation allegations. The NCAA alleges five Level I (the most severe) infractions against the KU men’s basketball program and coach Bill Self.
As part of Monday’s announcement, a member of the IARP in NC State’s case said the panel had discussed a postseason ban but ultimately decided against it while not wanting to punish current athletes who had nothing to do with the violations, according to ESPN’s Mark Schlabach.
If future cases follow the same outline, that could mean more strict punishments for the coaches involved and potentially less so for the actual athletic departments and teams.
Something to note: KU gave Self a lifetime contract in April that states the school cannot fire Self “for cause” because of the current infractions. If KU ever chose to fire Self without cause, it would owe him one year of his total guaranteed salary at $5.41 million, plus a prorated share of his annual $2.435 million retention bonus given every April 1.
KU’s case is still a ways from completion, with that ruling expected — at the earliest — after the end of the 2021-22 basketball season. CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander reported Monday that KU “could be waiting until the fall of 2022” before its ruling comes down.
At the least, Monday’s news still was a fascinating starting point for the IARP, which provides a final decision with no appeal process available to the schools.
Here is some other national reaction to the NC State case’s conclusion.
