NCAA’s Mark Emmert asked about KU Jayhawks infractions case, Bill Self’s contract
The first question NCAA president Mark Emmert faced on Thursday at his annual Final Four news conference was about the University of Kansas’ longstanding infractions case.
A reporter worded the question: “One of the four schools here (Kansas), 2 1/2 years ago received a notice of allegations with five Level I violations. In the meantime they’ve basically given their coach a lifetime contract while this case is still being adjudicated. What does it suggest to you about how your member schools view the enforcement process as it’s currently constructed?”
KU men’s basketball coach Bill Self received a new, five-year rollover contract worth a guaranteed $5.41 million per year on April 2, 2021 after his contract had been set to expire at the conclusion of the 2021-22 season. USA Today reported Self’s total compensation for this season was $10.2 million because of deferred compensation payments.
“First of all, I’ll leave it to the school to make decisions about their coaches’ contracts. That’s their business, obviously. They can do that as they see fit,” Emmert said Thursday at the Caesars Superdome, site of the Final Four.
“The enforcement process that you’re referring to, of course, is the cases that came out of the Southern District of New York. Those cases moved into a brand new, independent process. I think by anybody’s estimation they’ve taken way too long. It took two years before anything could be done with those cases because of the engagement of the Department of Justice. And so you automatically start out two years behind the curve, which is crazy, obviously.”
He continued: “And then it’s just been really slow in getting through that new independent process (IARP) that’s wound up reinvestigating the entire case. So I think that the work that’s going on right now, especially with the transformation committee and a group that’s working with the membership to try and accelerate the enforcement model is going to be really important.
“To me there’s a few things that need to be included in enforcement. And first it’s got to be fair. It’s got to be swift. And it’s got to not punish the innocent, if you will, those that weren’t involved in those activities. And that’s where the membership’s got to be in all of this, as they shape a new process or rebuild the one that’s in place.”
The NCAA leader stated that “it’s fascinating to watch and be a part of a system where the schools themselves are — and they’ve been doing this for, gosh, since the 1950s, so more than 60 years now — where they are holding themselves accountable for following the rules. And how do you craft a model that does all three of those things? It’s fair and swift and at the same time goes after the misconduct and not those that weren’t involved.
“And we’ve seen in that 40-, 50-year period a swing of that pendulum back and forth and back and forth. We’ve got to get it in a place that’s right. And I don’t think there’s anybody right now that thinks it is,” Emmert said.
The NCAA in 2019 alleged five Level I violations against the Kansas men’s basketball program and Self that center around payments made by representatives of Adidas, KU’s apparel sponsor, to prospective recruits.
The NCAA was forceful in its allegations against both Self and assistant Kurtis Townsend in September 2019, as evidenced in one line that stated the two KU basketball staff members, along with Adidas representatives, “intentionally and willfully engaged in NCAA violations and blatantly disregarded the NCAA constitution and bylaws.”
Self and his attorneys fought back then with powerful statements of their own. Scott Tompsett, one of Self’s lawyers, said, “The NCAA has alleged that Coach Self did not exercise appropriate due care in the management of his program. We will vigorously dispute that allegation.”
The NCAA announced in July 2020 that KU’s case would go through the Independent Accountability Resolution Process. NC State is the only school to have a case decided through this track, as it was given one year of probation among other penalties while avoiding a postseason ban following the completion of its matter last month.
Last fall, Kansas Athletics requested an “alternative resolution” for the basketball case, with Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby offering support for that outcome, according to timeline updates on the IARP website. The IARP’s latest timeline update on the case is from December.
This story was originally published March 31, 2022 at 7:05 PM with the headline "NCAA’s Mark Emmert asked about KU Jayhawks infractions case, Bill Self’s contract."
