NCAA penalizes U-M after basketball probe

University News Service and Michigan Daily

The NCAA penalized the University this spring after a seven-year investigation of violations of NCAA rules in the U-M basketball program dating from the early 1990s.

In its report released May 8, the NCAA Committee on Infractions ruled that the acceptance of $616,000 in improper loans by four former U-M basketball players violated NCAA rules on amateurism, impermissible recruiting inducements and extra benefits by an athletics representative.

Martin

The committee placed the University on probation for four years, imposed an additional year’s ban on postseason play for the current men’s basketball team and reduced the allowable scholarships by a total of four over the next four years. It also required the University to disassociate for 10 years the four players involved, or show cause why such an action should not be taken.

“We have always accepted responsibility for the concerns raised by the NCAA and by the Infractions Committee in its report,” said U-M President Mary Sue Coleman. “We agree that these were very serious infractions, and we accept the additional penalties imposed by the committee that address the loss of scholarships, extended probation and requirement to disassociate the players or show why we should not. We own the wrongdoing and we own the responsibility.”

Coleman added, however, that U-M would appeal the imposition of an additional year’s ban on postseason play, over and above the one-year ban Michigan self-imposed for the 2002-2003 season. The appeal will be based on the unfair burden such a penalty places upon innocent student-athletes and coaching staff.

“I am disappointed that the committee’s action has the effect of further punishing our current, uninvolved student-athletes,” Coleman said. “This contradicts one of the core principles of NCAA enforcement.”

U-M Athletic Director Bill Martin noted that U-M’s own investigations had led to a number of actions, including personnel changes, extensive changes in the Athletic Department’s compliance programs and self-imposed sanctions. “We’ve had three presidents since the violations first occurred,” he said, “and three athletic directors and three different coaches. All of the players in the program during those years have long since left the University.”

U-M’s self-imposed sanctions included vacating 114 wins including two Final Fours, removing four championship banners from Crisler Arena, returning money to the NCAA for postseason play with ineligible players and putting itself on probation for two years.

The NCAA Committee on Infractions agreed that U-M’s response “represented meaningful self-imposed penalties,” and praised Michigan for its cooperation and its commitment to accept responsibility for the violations. The committee said it had levied additional penalties because of the seriousness of the case, the large sums of money involved, the prominence of the players accepting the money and the lengthy time period over which the violations occurred.

The appeal process with the NCAA will probably take three to four months, with a response anticipated by early fall.

Player placed on probation

In other basketball news, U-M said that Bernard Robinson Jr. ’04 of Washington, DC, would remain on the team as a player and co-captain while serving probation for assaulting a female undergraduate.

Last March, Robinson pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and battery for an incident that occurred in April 2002.

According to U-M Department of Public Safety (DPS) reports, a female student of West Quad Residence Hall accused Robinson of fondling her in a stairwell of the hall. She said she escaped and contacted DPS. Campus officers arrested and released Robinson the next morning. Robinson was initially charged with three counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. In a plea agreement, those charges were dropped and replaced with two misdemeanor counts of assault and battery.

Robinson’s probation requires him to participate in sex-offender screening, to deliver a presentation to other Michigan athletes about criminal sexual conduct and to abstain from drugs and alcohol. He was also fined $850 and ordered to have no further contact with the victim, except for a required letter of apology.

Amaker

Robinson, a 6’6” forward, was elected co-captain by his teammates earlier this year. He averaged 32.2 minutes, 11.2 points and 6.1 rebounds this past season.

Students connected with the campus Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center petitioned the University to overrule the decision to keep Robinson on the court. Addressed to President Coleman and the Board of Regents, the May 19 petition was distributed to students, staff and alumni.

“We ask that Bernard Robinson, Jr. be stripped of his captaincy for the 2003-2004 season, lose his basketball scholarship from the University of Michigan and be removed from the University of Michigan’s men’s basketball program,” the petition said. “By allowing him [Robinson] to continue to represent the University on a national level, the University administration shows a lack of commitment to ending violence against women on this campus. Allowing Robinson to continue to play for the University’s men’s basketball team also sends a message to this student body and to the nation at large that the University of Michigan is less concerned with the character of its student athletes than with their athletic abilities.”

The University said Robinson’s punishment was consistent with disciplinary actions taken against nonathletes who have faced similar charges. Basketball coach Tommy Amaker defended the decision to keep Robinson on the team. In a written statement published by the Michigan Daily, Amaker said, “Bernard knows that the consequences for his action carry a great deal of weight and will not be taken lightly. We will expect him to fulfill all his obligations as outlined by the judge. He will take a leadership role in sharing this experience with his teammates and especially with our freshmen players so they, too, understand the serious nature of this issue.”