UH hires Alabama law firm in NCAA probe

The University of Hawaii has retained a high-powered Ala­bama law firm in the latest sign of its escalating concern over the potential fallout from the ongoing investigation of its men’s basketball program.

UH said it retained attorney William H. King III of the Bir­ming­ham, Ala., firm of Lightfoot, Franklin & White.

The firm’s website said King represented Texas A&M last year when Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel was under NCAA investigation for allegations he accepted money for autographs. Manziel sat out just the first half of the Aggies’ 2013 season opener under a deal with the NCAA.

The firm also represented Auburn when quarterback Cam Newton’s eligibility was in question in 2010, his Heisman Trophy-winning season. Auburn paid the firm $170,000 over four months. And Michigan paid a reported $600,000 for the firm’s help in dealing with NCAA allegations in 2009-10.

UH would not say how much the firm will be paid, only that it will be billed to the athletic department.

"When you are anticipating a letter of allegations, you want expertise because the institution is going to have to answer to the letter," athletic director Ben Jay said. The UH Office of General Counsel has been overseeing the case.

Basketball coach Gib Arnold has also retained counsel apart from the school, UH said.

The NCAA has been looking into allegations of an altered document, team practice hours, potentially impermissible benefits for players and other issues, according to people who have been interviewed. Some of the issues have reportedly been exacerbated by inconsistencies among some of the parties.

UH has yet to receive an official letter of allegations, and Jay declined to say when one was expected, though signs point to the investigation winding up shortly after what was reported to be a flurry of activity over the last couple of weeks.

Arnold initially dismissed issues leading to the investigation as "absolutely nothing" in early February.

But "it is no longer insignificant," said an official who asked to remain anonymous since the school has a policy of not commenting on the investigation.

The NCAA first dispatched investigator Mike Sheridan to the Manoa campus in March, and he has returned at least once since then. Several conference calls have been held with investigators at NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis.

The "in conference" sign has been a fixture on the door of compliance director Amanda Paterson’s ground-floor office in the Naga­tani Center, where calls have taken place.

Every member of the 2013-14 men’s basketball team and coaching staff has been interviewed, along with several staffers and administrators and at least one fan. Reportedly the NCAA has also recently sought to talk to some former players. In all, more than 20 people have been interviewed, some — including Arnold and assistant Bran­dyn Akana — on multiple occasions.

UH said a potential violation of NCAA rules occurred Jan. 9 when a "men’s basketball coach submitted an altered document that was essentially for admissions purposes."

The document was altered after having been certified by a bank. It concerned a recruit the team was attempting to get admitted for the spring 2014 semester.

Missouri transfer Stefan Jan­ko­vic, a native of Canada, was the only player UH officially added in the spring semester. He did not play in any games, but was a full practice participant and is expected to become eligible in December.

Subsequently, Akana was absent for four games Jan. 23 to Feb. 1 as part of a UH-imposed suspension. He then returned for two games and a week’s worth of practices before the suspension was extended. Akana was absent again from Feb. 13 through the final game on March 13. Overall, Akana was off the UH bench for 12 of the team’s final 14 games.

UH did not publicly acknowledge the NCAA investigation until May 17, hours before a Hono­lulu Star-Advertiser package of stories was to run. In its only official statement, the athletic department said "there is an ongoing NCAA investigation of potential rules violations" but did not go into further detail except to say it was cooperating with the NCAA.

Once NCAA investigators have concluded their report, it goes to a larger allegation review board, which is composed of "a cross section of other personnel from the national office enforcement staff," NCAA enforcement director Jonathan Duncan told the Star-Advertiser.

The review board was instituted among reforms that went into place Aug. 1, 2013, and Duncan said the board works "with the investigative team to decide which allegations to bring and what level they should be."

As part of its overhaul, the NCAA laid out a four-tier system for classification of offenses, with Level IV being the least egregious, involving "incidental infractions that are inadvertent and isolated, technical in nature."

Level I and II offenses go to the Committee on Infractions, which is made up of representatives from NCAA members and the public.

While declining to directly discuss the UH investigation, the vast majority of cases are classified Level III or IV and "get processed very quickly," Duncan said. "We’re down to about 30 days on those."

When UH notified the NCAA back in January, it hoped for a Level IV classification.

But the incident apparently set off warning bells in Indianapolis, prompting a deeper review by the NCAA, which has reportedly branched off into other areas, including extra benefits and practice time.