Kansas State Suspends Bill Self 4 Games For Violation

Kansas basketball coach Bill Self and assistant Curtis Townsend were suspended for the first four games of the season on Wednesday as part of the FBI’s investigation into corruption in college basketball in 2017 that the Jayhawks implemented several Recruitment restrictions.

Self and Townsend were named in the NCAA’s notice of charges, which allege the school violated five first-degree violations due to its affiliation with Adidas.

They will miss the Jayhawks’ game against Duke in the Championship Classic on Nov. 11. 15. Assistant coach Norm Roberts will serve as interim head coach for the defending champions during Self’s first four-game suspension.

They will also miss games against Omaha, North Dakota and southern Utah before their matchup with Duke. Self and Townsend will rejoin the team in time to face NC State in the 4th Battle of Atlantis on November 11 in the Bahamas. twenty three.

“Coach Townsend and I accept and support KU’s decision to impose these sanctions on its own,” Self said in a statement. “We get along very well with coach Roberts and I’m sure he will do a good job leading our team from the bench. I’m proud of the way our players have handled this situation and I’m looking forward to getting back on the bench Our game against North Carolina.”

Kansas has opted to refer its violation cases to the Independent Accountability Resolution process. According to the press release, the school notified the IARP team of its self-imposed penalties, which also include multiple recruitment sanctions, some of which have already been implemented.

Self and Townsend have been banned from off-campus recruiting visits from April to July this year, and the school has not hosted any recruits at its annual Midnight Madness event, “Phog Late Night.” The school will also lose three scholarships over the next three years, reduce the number of official recruiting visits this year by four and reduce the number of recruiting days allowed in the coming year by 13.

“We hope these difficult self-imposed sanctions will help close the case,” said Kansas State Athletic Director Travis Goff. “Until then, we will continue to focus on supporting our outstanding men’s basketball student-athletes and Coaches. . . In accordance with the confidentiality guidelines associated with violation cases, we cannot comment in depth until this matter is fully resolved.”

IARP was created in 2019 as an alternative to the NCAA’s traditional infraction process. Multiple schools affected by the FBI corruption investigation have decided to use independent panels to handle their ongoing violations, but the process has been plagued by delays and other challenges.

Its only major ruling in men’s college basketball to date has been the Memphis case. In September, the IARP panel determined that Penny Hardaway did not break any rules when he offered benefits to former rising star James Wiseman and other potential clients before taking over as head coach of the program.

The IARP will be terminated by the NCAA following a ruling in the Kansas men’s basketball case. The school cannot appeal the IARP decision.

The NCAA, through its notice of charges, accused Kansas of using Adidas to gain an illegal advantage in recruiting. Its notice of charges said Self and Townsend encouraged Adidas employees, including those charged in the FBI case, to direct top recruits to Kansas.

“We have been in dialogue with all parties involved throughout this process,” Kansas Premier Douglas A. Girod said in a statement. “We believe the actions we announced today bring us one step closer to resolving this issue. We look forward to making further comments when this process is fully resolved. Until then, I would like to reiterate our unwavering support for Coach Self and our men’s basketball program. “

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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