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SMU was also cited for unethical conduct and a lack of
control by the head coach, according to a National Collegiate
Athletic Association infraction panel.
The NCAA said a former assistant coach encouraged a player to
enroll in an online course to meet eligibility standards and be
admitted to the Dallas-based university. After the player
enrolled in the course, a former administrative assistant
received the student’s online credentials and completed all of
his course work.
"(Brown) failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance under
NCAA rules when he did not report the violations about which he
knew," said Michael Adams, chief hearing officer and chancellor
of Pepperdine University. "And he was not initially truthful
during an interview with the NCAA enforcement staff."
Brown said in a statement: "I am saddened and disappointed that
the Committee on Infractions believes that I did not fully
fulfill my duties and I will consider my options to challenge
that assertion in the coming days."
Brown, 75, is the only coach to win both NCAA and NBA titles. A
guard in the old American Basketball Association, Brown was
enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 2002.
Although the NCAA did not name those involved other than Brown,
the investigation centered on assistant coach Ulric Maligi and
player Keith Frazier.
Maligi, who left SMU last season, was not cited for any
violations by the NCAA. Frazier missed the second half of last
season after being ruled ineligible.
Brown, who will miss nine games this season because of the
sanction, did not have knowledge of any violation while it was
occurring, the NCAA said, adding it was unable to determine if
the administrative assistant had been instructed by anyone
within the program to do the course work.
"(Brown) hired the assistant coach, the administrative assistant
and recruited the student-athlete involved," Adams said. "The
committee held him responsible."
Brown's coaching career includes stops at UCLA and Kansas, where
he won the NCAA title in 1988, and those schools were sanctioned
by the NCAA while under his watch.
SMU will lose nine scholarships over the next three years. The
school can appeal.
(Reporting by Steve Ginsburg in Washington; Editing by Bill
Trott and Peter Cooney)
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