Arizona Basketball

Febuary 5 2010

Arizona announces sanctions on itself. The penalties include a loss of 1 scholarship for the 2011-2012 recruiting season, reduce the number of days coaches are allowed to recruit for the next two seasons, reduce the number of official campus visits allowed by prospects and reduce the number of coaches allowed to recruit off campus at one time for summer 2010 recruiting.

The thrust of the allegations is that former UA basketball coach Lute Olson improperly sent a letter to board
members of the Rebounders, a basketball supporter group, urging their support of the 2008 Cactus Classic (the letter was quickly rescinded), and that he provided an opportunity for the organizer of the event to speak at Rebounders board meetings.

The allegations further assert that two former assistant coaches (Russ Pennell and Mike Dunlap) who attended the 2008 Cactus Classic before they began work for the UA should not have attended because the tournament occurred during a quiet period for recruiting, and they should have technically been considered employees even though they had not yet officially begun to work for the University. Pennell was coaching a team that had entered the tournament (but which subsequently withdrew), and Dunlap has stated that he was still considering whether to accept the job at the time of the tournament.

A third assertion by the NCAA does not relate directly to the University. It alleges that a former assistant coach failed to meet with NCAA investigators after he left his job at the University. The former coach has since been interviewed by the NCAA.

Two other allegations contend that Lute Olson misled the University’s NCAA compliance officer regarding the origin of the letter that went to the Rebounders’ board members, and that he failed to adequately monitor some activities and promote an atmosphere of compliance. These actions occurred during a time when Coach Olson was dealing with a number of health issues, and it was later revealed by his physician and family that he had suffered a stroke that affected his decision‐making abilities.

A final assertion concerns whether or not the institution failed to adequately monitor the basketball program, because an associate athletic director was present during at least one Rebounders board meeting where the presentation on the Cactus Classic was made, and did not immediately recognize the presentation as an NCAA violation and thus report it to the University.