DENNIS ODA / OCT. 4
Gib Arnold said he’s doing the best he can to run a program Hawaii can be proud of.
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Three weeks out from the start of the 2014-15 season, Hawaii basketball coach Gib Arnold sought to quell worries about potential sanctions against his program.
The NCAA has yet to release the findings of its months-long probe of Arnold’s team, but the collegiate governing body’s investigation interviews are believed to have been completed last week.
UH athletic director Ben Jay said Wednesday unspecified self-sanctions are being considered before the NCAA suggests any punitive measures. Those could come before the Nov. 14 season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic.
Arnold said he had no knowledge of possible self-sanctions after practice on Wednesday evening. He gave the Honolulu Star-Advertiser the following statement on Thursday morning.
"The Hawaii fans need to know that we are doing the best we can to run a program they can be proud of. We are not paying players, committing academic fraud, putting our student-athletes in harm’s way or treating them poorly.
"We have yet to even receive a notice of any possible allegations from the NCAA. Nor have we been given our mandated 90 days to respond to any allegations. If there has been anything administratively in our program where we have fallen short we will learn from it and correct it immediately."
Jay had declined to say if coaches and/or players will be suspended or released as part of any self-sanctions.
The NCAA’s investigation began in March, two months after UH self-reported an NCAA violation, saying "a men’s basketball coach submitted an altered document that was essential for admissions purposes."
Since that time, the NCAA interviewed more than 25 people, some of them multiple times.
Arnold was on a one-day West Coast recruiting trip on Thursday as the Rainbow Warriors had the day off from practice. The coach is expected to be back for practice on Friday. The team has an officiated intrasquad scrimmage planned for Saturday.