Kansas suspends Bill Self for four games for violation

Kansas basketball coach Bill Self and assistant Curtis Townsend were suspended for the first four games of the season on Wednesday, while the Jayhawks opened an FBI investigation into college basketball corruption that began in 2017. imposed some recruitment restrictions as part of the influence of the

Self and Townsend were named in an NCAA allegation notice accusing the school of five Level I violations related to their relationship with Adidas.

They will miss the Jayhawks’ game against Duke in the Champions Classic on November 15. Assistant coach Norm Roberts will serve as interim head coach for the defending champions while Self is suspended for the first four games.

He will also miss games against Omaha, North Dakota and Southern Utah before facing off against Duke. Self and Townsend will rejoin the squad in time for him to face NC State at Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas on November 23.

“Coach Townsend and I accept and support KU’s decision to voluntarily impose these sanctions. I’m sure he’ll do his job, I’m proud of the way our players have handled this situation, and I’m looking forward to getting back on the bench for the game against North Carolina State.”

Kansas has elected to refer the breach action to an independent accountability resolution process. The school notified her IARP panel of the self-imposed penalties, according to the release. This also includes multiple recruitment sanctions, some of which have already been imposed.

Self and Townsend were banned from off-campus recruiting visits from April to July this year, and did not accept recruits at their annual Midnight Madness event, Late Night in the Fog. The school will also lose three of her scholarships over the next three years, he will cut four official recruiting visits this year, and he will cut the number of recruiting days allowed the following year by 13.

“We hope these difficult, self-imposed sanctions will help bring the case to an end,” said University of Kansas athletic director Travis Goff. We will continue to focus on supporting our coaches, and due to confidentiality guidelines regarding incidents of violation, we are unable to make further comments until this matter is fully resolved.”

The IARP was created in 2019 as a replacement for the NCAA’s traditional violations process. Several schools affected by FBI corruption investigations have decided to use independent panels to address ongoing violations, but the process has been plagued by delays and other challenges. rice field.

So far, the only major verdict in men’s college basketball is the Memphis case. In September, an IARP committee ruled that Penny Hardaway did not violate the rules when she offered benefits to former star player James Weisman and other prospective clients before becoming the program’s head coach.

IARP will be repealed by the NCAA after the decision in the Kansas men’s basketball case. Schools cannot appeal IARP decisions.

Through its notice of allegations, the NCAA accused Kansas of using Adidas to illegally profit from recruitment. The allegation notice says Self and Townsend “encouraged” Adidas employees, including those accused in the FBI case, to direct top recruits to Kansas.

Kansas Premier Douglas A. Girod said in a statement, “We have had ongoing conversations with all parties throughout this process.” “We believe the actions announced today bring us closer to resolving this issue and I look forward to commenting further once this process is fully resolved. Until then, Coach Self and the men’s basketball program I would like to reiterate my unwavering support for

The Associated Press contributed to this report.