Even with the release of the NCAA’s notice of allegations that repeatedly cite former basketball coach Gib Arnold, the University of Hawaii is declining to elaborate on why it chose to dismiss him on a more costly "without cause" basis.
UH announced Arnold’s termination Oct. 28, approximately 11 days after it was said the NCAA had substantially completed its eight-month investigation of the program.
On Saturday, UH released the NCAA’s 42-page notice of allegations in which the program was cited for seven violations of NCAA rules, including three of the most severe category, Level I, and four from Level II.
In it, the NCAA named Arnold in all of the allegations and assistant Brandyn Akana in two.
According to terms of Arnold’s contract in force at the time, he could have been terminated "with cause" for several reasons, including:
» "A deliberate or major violation as defined by the current NCAA bylaws and legislation by coach or a failure to report such violation."
» "Violation of NCAA legislation relating to the sports program by an assistant coach, coordinator or sports program student-athlete and either the violation occurs or continues to occur after the coach knew or should have known that it was about to occur or was occurring …"
» "Violation of NCAA legislation by any coach or student-athlete under the coach’s direct supervision that, upon determination of the athletic director, reflects adversely upon the university …"
By invoking the "with cause" provision, the contract said, "coach’s salary and any benefits, as set forth, shall terminate as of the date the agreement is terminated by the university and the university shall not thereafter be liable to coach for any damages, legal or otherwise."
But when UH announced Arnold’s dismissal in October, the school said, "Arnold will be employed through Jan. 26, 2015, and will be paid a lump sum payment for the remainder of his contract term, set to expire June 30, 2015."
Based on Arnold’s $344,000 salary for 2014-15, the difference between a "for cause" and "without cause" termination amounts to more than $200,000.
Manoa Chancellor Robert Bley-Vroman, who announced Arnold’s termination in October, said Saturday, "We released Coach Arnold under the terms of the contract under the term that permits us to release him without a particular allegation of cause (and) with a pretty generous settlement. So, we were just following the agreement that we have with Arnold as one of the options for having him leave. We thought we needed, as I said at the time, new leadership in the basketball program. We considered many things about the situation in making that determination."
