Ruling on Baylor likely delayed until 2021 in an NCAA case that should just be closed
The NCAA’s investigation into Baylor University’s athletic department began in 2017, and the earliest it will finish now is 2021.
The NCAA originally opened its case with Baylor via its Committee on Infractions, until last year when it turned everything over to a newly formed “independent adjudicative authority;” that new arm of the NCAA was created to take on high profile cases of potential infractions.
Now we are in September 2020, and, per sources, the NCAA has moved the Baylor case from the independent adjudicative authority back to the traditional committee on infractions.
A hearing is expected to be completed within the next 90 days. That would mean a ruling would occur likely in 2021.
Like so much these days, everything requires some sort of “timing subject to change” denotation.
This case has been delayed so frequently that it is apparent it is not a priority with the NCAA.
At this point, there is no point. If the NCAA never addressed this issue again no one would know, or care.
Everyone involved at Baylor of any significance during the period of time during the last years of football coach Art Briles’ tenure has moved on.
The NCAA originally opened an investigation into Baylor in June 2017. In September 2018, the NCAA sent Baylor a “notice of allegations.”
Among the charges included a lack of institutional control against Baylor administrators, and allegations that Briles did not promote an atmosphere of compliance within the football program.
All of these charges stemmed from multiple allegations of Title IX violations against the school, including several incidents of alleged sexual assault committed by members of the football team.
The original timeline was that a ruling would be made in the spring of 2019. Then that was pushed to the summer of 2019.
Then the NCAA created a new committee to handle high profile infractions; this was born out of the FBI wiretap cases against college basketball teams such as Kansas, Duke, etc.
It would require what amounted to a re-investigation of everything.
Per Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports, this new committee was scheduled to hold a hearing for the Baylor case in April. COVID made that impossible.
So now the Baylor case goes back to its original infractions committee. Unlike a ruling by the independent adjudicative authority, where no appeal is possible, if Baylor does not agree with the NCAA’s announcement, it can lawyer up and challenge the ruling.
Since the notice was given to Baylor, the university has implemented more than 100 measures to address its inadequate Title IX procedures.
It hired a new football coach, Matt Rhule, and played in the Sugar Bowl. Rhule left after the 2019 season to become the new head coach of the Carolina Panthers.
The school hired Dave Aranda to replace Rhule.
While sources said Baylor was advised to consider a bowl ban in 2018, there was no need.
Because this case has taken years, the NCAA is going to do something, if anything to justify the time and expense invested.
Perhaps it will try to take away some scholarships, or subtract practice time. Maybe a fine. It will likely try to slap a show cause penalty on Briles, 64, who now coaches a small high school in East Texas.
The NCAA has much bigger issues, starting with revenue losses as a result of COVID-19, increased student athlete empowerment, and navigating the topic of name-image-likeness for players.
Whatever momentum that existed to punish Baylor has evaporated.
Everyone has moved on, and to penalize the school now would be to pop a group of people who weren’t there, and had nothing to do with any of it.
