The NCAA didn’t throw the whole book at the University of Hawaii men’s basketball program Tuesday, but enough of the 405-page Divisional I Manual landed to make a point.
“It does seem like they hit us a little hard,” said Manoa Chancellor Robert Bley-Vroman, who judged some of the penalties “harsh” after the Rainbow Warriors received sanctions that included being banned from postseason play for the 2016-17 season and being docked two scholarships for each of the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons for seven violations of NCAA rules.
The school was punished for allowing the basketball team’s director of operations to actually coach the team during practices, failing to report extra benefits provided to athletes, and misleading the NCAA during the investigation, among other things.
Former head coach Gib Arnold, under whose watch the violations came, was handed a suspension equivalent to 30 percent (nine or 10 games) of the first season he coaches another NCAA-member institution and put under a three-year so-called “show cause” order. That means any school that wishes to hire him before Dec. 21, 2018, must demonstrate to the NCAA Committee on Infractions why it shouldn’t be penalized for hiring him and how it plans to monitor his activities.
The fallout from infractions
Penalties and corrective actions imposed Tuesday on the University of Hawaii and some of its former coaches by the NCAA Committee on Infractions include:
>> A three-year probation period from Dec. 22, 2015, through Dec. 21, 2018.
>> A three-year show-cause order for the former head coach (Gib Arnold) from Dec. 22, 2015, through Dec. 21, 2018. If the former coach seeks employment at an NCAA member school, he must be suspended from all coaching duties for the first 30 percent of the season, not counting exhibition games. He must also attend an NCAA Regional Rules Seminar during each year he is employed by an NCAA school during the show-cause period.
>> A two-year show-cause order for the former assistant coach (Brandyn Akana) from Dec. 22, 2015, through Dec. 21, 2017. If he seeks employment at an NCAA member school, both the school and coach must appear before the committee to detail why his athletic duties should not be restricted.
>> A reduction of men’s basketball scholarships by two for a total of 11 during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. The university may receive credit toward the scholarship reduction for its self-imposed one-scholarship reduction for the 2016-17 season.
>> A 2016-17 postseason ban for the men’s basketball program.
>> A vacation of wins in which the men’s basketball student-athletes participated while ineligible. The university will identify the games impacted affected following the release of the public report. >> A prohibition of the men’s basketball staff from conducting on-campus prospect evaluations for the first five official visits of the 2015-16 academic year (self-imposed by the university).
>> A reduction of the maximum number of countable athletic activity hours by one hour per week during the 2015-16 men’s basketball season (self-imposed by the university).
>> A $10,000 fine, self-imposed by the university, plus 1 percent of the total budget for the men’s basketball program over the previous three years, imposed by the panel.
Source: NCAA
The sanction is likely moot since Arnold is working in the NBA as a scout for the Boston Celtics.
Former assistant coach Brandyn Akana received a two-year “show cause” order.
The announcement of the penalties came as UH hosted the opening night of its three-day marquee event of the season Tuesday, the nationally televised Diamond Head Classic, and had a prospective recruit from Australia in town. Bley-Vroman called the timing “very unfortunate.”
UH’s journey through the infractions system — officially “NCAA Case No. 00020” — took 26 months and could cost the school upward of $1 million in attorney fees, settlements and other expenses.
It was one of the first cases adjudicated under a new NCAA penalty structure installed in 2013, and the penalties may have been used to send a message. “I think it would make sense, if you are the NCAA,” Bley-Vroman said. “It is important to them, just as it is to us, that (schools) take NCAA rules seriously. We want to be a good partner.”
The most severe of the penalties is the postseason ban, because players who will be seniors next year are allowed to transfer to other schools without sitting out a year.
According to an NCAA spokeswoman, “The rule applies if a student-athlete’s last year of eligibility is the 2016-17 season. If it is the student-athlete’s last season of eligibility, he can transfer without sitting out a year because his last season of competition is affected by the postseason ban.”
Current players Aaron Valdes, Stefan Jankovic, Stefan Jovanovic and Mike Thomas are among those who would be eligible to transfer penalty-free, should they choose.
UH considered self-imposing a postseason ban last year to avoid just such a situation but gambled that the imposition of other penalties, including a $10,000 fine and limits on practice time and recruiting, would allow it to escape the ban.
It also counted on what the NCAA report cited as “mitigating factors.” The NCAA credited UH with “prompt acknowledgement and acceptance of responsibility and imposition of meaningful corrective measures (and) penalties, affirmative steps to expedite final resolution and an established history of self reporting (lower-level) violations.”
Athletic director David Matlin, who termed the penalty “disappointing,” nevertheless said that “at the present time we are not planning to appeal, and plan to accept the current penalties.”
He said, “The problem is what we did. I mean, we have to own some of our mistakes and have to improve and move forward from it.”
Head coach Eran Ganot said, “It is what it is, and we’re not going to pout about it.”
UH was originally charged with three Level I violations and four from Level II. Level I violations are the most severe. But in Tuesday’s announcement the NCAA reduced the case to Level II overall.
Arnold, the former coach, claimed “vindication” because he was not found guilty of any Level I violations, according to his attorney, James Bickerton.
Valdes addressed the sanctions on Twitter, saying, “We still got a season to play and a NCAA tourney to make. This year we just have to stay focused. Either you’re with us or against us.”
The NCAA placed blame both on the UH coaching staff and the athletic department’s compliance office, saying, “The case provides a cautionary tale regarding the interaction between coaching staffs and institutional compliance office. The relationship between the former head men’s basketball coach and the director of compliance at this institution was tense to the point of being nearly dysfunctional. Communication between the two was poor and overshadowed by an ongoing personality conflict. Had they worked more collaboratively in their dealings, at least some of the violations in this case would likely not have occurred.”
Amanda Paterson was compliance director at the time. She has since been promoted to an assistant athletic director position.
Matlin termed the situation between Paterson and Arnold “an anomaly” and said “other coaches speak very highly of her.”
Matlin said, “The NCAA decision describes a men’s basketball program and compliance regime that no longer exists today. We have identified issues and compliance needs and addressed them squarely — not just with words, but with actions and resources to back them up.”
Timeline of events
2014
>> Jan. 9: UH determines that “a men’s basketball coach (has submitted) an altered document that was essential for admissions purposes.”
>> Feb. 12: Assistant coach Brandyn Akana is absent from the team during a road trip to California, raising questions about his status. Head coach Gib Arnold says Akana’s absences are “absolutely nothing.”
>> March: NCAA commences investigation of UH men’s basketball team.
>> May 17: UH publicly acknowledges for the first time that “there is an ongoing NCAA investigation of potential rules violations” hours before the Honolulu Star-Advertiser is to report the NCAA is investigating a UH fan whose car was used by senior center Davis Rozitis.
>> June 16: In response to a state open-records law request, UH acknowledges six “ongoing” cases involving potential NCAA rules violations by the men’s basketball program.
>> Sept. 1: Robert Bley-Vroman replaces the fired Tom Apple as Manoa chancellor and vetoes a proposed contract extension and raise for Arnold.
>> Oct. 28: UH announces dismissal of Arnold and Akana without cause amid the NCAA investigation.
>> Oct. 29: Interim coach Benjy Taylor says UH has suspended all-conference player Isaac Fotu indefinitely.
>> Nov. 12: Fotu’s signing with CAI Zaragoza of the Spanish League is announced.
2015
>> Jan. 30: UH receives Notice of Allegations from the NCAA citing seven major violations.
>> March 25: David Matlin is introduced as athletic director.
>> April 8: Eran Ganot is hired as basketball coach.
>> Oct. 15: UH and Arnold appear before the NCAA Committee on Infractions in Dallas the same day UH regents on Maui approve a more than $800,000 settlement of Arnold’s claims against the school resulting from his firing.
>> Tuesday: NCAA announces penalties against UH program.
