Men's Basketball | February 26, 2020
PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania Division of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics acknowledges the report released today by the NCAA Committee on Infractions regarding recruiting violations committed by Penn's former head men's basketball coach. As the report indicates, the former head coach received impermissible benefits in exchange for recruiting a prospective student-athlete. The NCAA agreed that the violations occurred even though current Penn Athletics leadership exhibited appropriate institutional control and monitoring of its athletics program. The report also indicates that Penn Athletics promptly acknowledged the violation, accepted responsibility, and imposed meaningful corrective measures.
Through the NCAA's negotiated resolution process, it was determined that the Division of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics would be placed on probation from February 26, 2020 to February 25, 2022. The probation does not include competitive penalties.
Penn Athletics was proactive in this review and fully cooperated with NCAA enforcement staff. While Penn Athletics and its men's basketball program accept the penalties handed down by the NCAA, it is unfortunate that this process did not fully differentiate wrongdoing for personal gain versus wrongdoing for competitive gain in penalizing the institution in addition to the involved individual. The University of Pennsylvania was harmed by the actions of its former head coach and the men's basketball program received no competitive advantage. We are hopeful that this case will lead to changes in how the NCAA processes similar situations moving forward.
Penn Athletics and the University's Office of Admissions have significantly enhanced the procedures for the recruitment of student-athletes, including: an expanded recruiting history timeline, proof of recruitment documentation with the athletics compliance office, proof of athletic talent and accomplishment, and additional layers of review throughout the admissions process. Additionally, a randomly selected group of recruited student-athletes are selected for further verification with officials at their secondary school, and there are post-admissions reviews of the admitted class in each sport.
These changes are part of the overall strengthening of athletics compliance that has been implemented over the past five years, including: upgrades to the compliance positions across the Division, a more formalized direct working relationship for athletics compliance with the University's Office of General Counsel, electronic monitoring of recruiting activity, and increased mandatory rules education for coaches and staff.
Click here for the NCAA Committee on Infractions Report, which includes a detailed list of other penalties and the complete negotiated resolution.
