(AP) The NCAA’s infractions case against the University of Kansas men’s basketball program has been accepted into a newly created independent investigation process that was created to handle especially complex cases.
The Infractions Referral Committee said Wednesday that the case against the Jayhawks and coach Bill Self would go through the Independent Accountability Resolution Process. The approval is the first significant step in a process that was created in August 2018 to deal with select cases and minimize perceived conflicts of interest.
Kansas has been accused by the NCAA of committing five Level I violations, which are considered the most egregious, as part of the fallout of an FBI investigation into college basketball corruption. The case hinges on whether representatives of apparel company Adidas were acting as boosters when two of them arrange payments to prospective recruits.
Kansas administrators believe the independent review process is their best chance of getting the charges levied by the NCAA dismissed. For one thing, it eliminates the governing body from the decision – both Kansas and the NCAA have been trading emotionally charged barbs for months. For another, it puts the case in the hands of legal experts chosen from a 15-member pool, rather than the typical committee on infraction comprised of longtime sports administrators.
Yet the IARP also comes with significant risk: There are no appeals once its decision is handed down.
