UConn president says Ollie had pattern of serious violations

[superjohn]

Amore/Courant: UConn President Says 'Substantial Evidence' Kevin Ollie, Staff Violated NCAA Rules

>>When Ollie was hired to replace the retiring Calhoun in 2012, it was clearly stated that Herbst and then-athletic director Warde Manuel required that he keep the program out of such trouble. “It was precisely because of the circumstances under which you took over the men’s basketball program,” Herbst writes, “that compelled Mr. Manuel and myself to each independently stress to you our expectation of rigorous compliance. … None [of the other coaches] were given the same specific direction upon hire that Mr. Manuel and I gave you.”<<

Makes sense given that UConn was already on NCAA probation @ the time

This was all known. I'm not shocked KO didn't care too much for the rules but I'm fairly shocked some of our fans think that's okay, especially knowing the circumstances.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Something that stands out is that Herbst's letter, Paranteau's written statement, and the articles by the AP Borges, and Amore all contain errors in editing or proofreading.

Whether through ignorance, haste, or autocorrect, a lot of the same shows up here on the Boneyard as well.

Lisa Simpson might characterize it all as "dumbening."

Maybe we could learn something from the Women's team.

 

[husky8273]

Who represents UConn? The Attorney General or outside counsel?

The rat tale about $30k is inadmissible hearsay upon hearsay.

The requirement of serious misconduct calls for a distinction between types of misconduct. If this is severe, what misconduct is not?

Brian Kappel represented UConn in some facet of this, Brian P. Kappel « Lightfoot, Franklin & White, LLC.

 

[NEforceUConn]

Well, I hope she wasn't thinking of a President position at an SEC school.

 

[sledog]

The negotiation goal lines have been defined. Now, where to put the ball??

 

[Yardigan]

The negotiation goal lines have been defined. Now, where to put the ball??

I'm going to start the bidding at $5.5M = what KO gets.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[superjohn]

He just found this out? lol.

 

[huskymedic]

He just found this out? lol.

He had a recent epiphany it appears:

Aaron Torres‏ @Aaron_Torres Jun 20
So the "violations" that UConn is claiming against Kevin Ollie included a few illegal workouts and an illegal visit from Ray Allen. Look, KO had to go. But trying to fire him with "cause" to get out of paying his buyout is despicable

Aaron Torres‏ @Aaron_Torres Jun 20
By the way, is there a greater compliment to a college basketball coach than a school spening hundreds of thousands on lawyers, and the only "dirt" they can come up with is an illegal workout or two?

 

[UconnU]

Uconn doesnt have the money to pay Ollie. That's part of the reason why the coaches doing this coaches roadshow. The university is broke.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Uconn doesnt have the money to pay Ollie. That's part of the reason why the coaches doing this coaches roadshow. The university is broke.

This reads like the answer to a question that hasn't been asked. What do you mean by writing it here?

 

[UconnU]

This reads like the answer to a question that hasn't been asked. What do you mean by writing it here?

People are speculating on the settlement amount. I'm just pointing out Uconn's position here, they arent in a position to just pay him to go away like most other high major schools would.

 

[champs99and04]

There's an old saying, "Anything after the first 10 minutes of law study changes a man forever."

At this point I'm not sure which side you're on, but at least we know that all the lawyers got issues.

Oh, I'm not suggesting he hire me as a consultant.

But from a practical standpoint, this is very clearly wrong, and it's a scenario where the actual letter of the law is secondary to how much public pressure the school can withstand. Thus far, they're holding up pretty well. A Deadspin article or a Jay Bilas tweet here or there won't be enough to get the school to cave.

 

[Edward Sargent]

UConn's entire case is based on an appeal to a false authority. I'm not sure why this is so hard to grasp.

People are missing the story for the headline, and that story has about as much to do with Kevin Ollie as the Tiger scandal had to do with a car accident.

Think back to the FBI investigation if you may and try to connect the dots. It had nothing to do with preserving the sanctity of amateurism and everything to do with exposing financial fraud. It was the first step in a concerted attempt to criminalize the NCAA, and while plausible deniability made it difficult to trace the bread crumbs back to one person (that's what systematic oppression does), Herbst is now forfeiting that crutch by directly denying a state employee the money on the basis of a pretend rulebook.

If you want to fall on the wrong side of history, please continue to harp on a paid plane ride. The rules mean nothing and have always meant nothing, except this time, instead of circumventing title IX, they're tempting the conviction of our entire economic structure. Good luck with that.

The FBI was never interested in the sanctity of amateurism and I don't think the FBI is interested in criminalizing the NCAA. They are investigating fraud and trying to make its case against 10 guys, but finding along the way that this is bigger than them

 

[HawkHusky]

Correct me if I am wrong but didn't Benedict publicly say back in Feb or march that UConn had a internal review and found no wrong doing? Am I making this up?

I believe that was in regards to FBI wrong-doings (like Ollie's relationship with that suit-maker).

 

[huskymedic]

This was an on-the-record interview accusing Ollie of misconduct.

I'm not following - "on-the-record interview "- with who?

>>UConn President Susan Herbst told Kevin Ollie she was upholding his firing because the former men’s basketball coach had a pattern of breaking NCAA rules and committed serious violations, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press. The school released the June 19 letter from Herbst to Ollie on Monday in response to open records requests from the AP and other news organizations.<<

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

He was offered nothing because of compliance issues.

Just because of alleged compliance issues? Or, compliance issues reportedly compounded by allegedly failing to disclose or misrepresenting related facts purportedly on at least 3 occasions to athletic department compliance officials and/or AD David Benedict?

 

[J187Money]

Something that stands out is that Herbst's letter, Paranteau's written statement, and the articles by the AP Borges, and Amore all contain errors in editing or proofreading.

Whether through ignorance, haste, or autocorrect, a lot of the same shows up here on the Boneyard as well.

Lisa Simpson might characterize it all as "dumbening."

Maybe we could learn something from the Women's team.

"Me no spell good? That's unpossible" - Ralph Wiggum

 

[J187Money]

I just don’t like that the media is dragging this through the mud. It’s not good for the program. Top programs make this go away. This is lingering.

Eh - the only place I read about it is here. Nobody else cares.

 

[tcf15]

I'm barely reading this stuff because I can't stand it. But I did catch a whiff of "lying to compliance". Can we really be that lucky?

It was in the original article that the school found out about his trainer buddy and that Ollie lied about it to the compliance department.

Also from the AP article: Benedict said Ollie had three times certified to him that the program was in compliance with all NCAA rules

 

[intlzncster]

Top programs buy out the contract. When you go Mickey Mouse, you should expect some problems.

This isn't true. If it's a large enough buyout, top programs will try to cut that some down as much as possible. eg Florida football. Pitt didn't pay out Stallings in full (they fired for cause--for weaker reasons than Ollie).

Now, smarter program are better at getting a coach to resign or settle. More importantly, they put reasonable buyout terms into the contract in the first place.

Ethically, I think Ollie should be paid out his contract, but as a UConn fan, it looks like the program's survival is dependent on wiping Ollie out. Expect more of these interviews.

Why is one part of the contract (the buyout money) governed by ethics, whereas the other (the abiding by NCAA rules) is completely disregarded from ethical perspective? How do you square that?

If, as reported, Ollie lied to compliance, then it's pretty cut and dry that the school is in the right...and not just by the letter of the law.

 

[Chief00]

Lisa Simpson might characterize it all as "dumbening."

Maybe we could learn something from the Women's team.

Don’t get the Chief started.

 

[MadDogRevival]

Don’t get the Chief started.

Since when did you start taking the article? Lol.

 

[jibsey]

I'm going to start the bidding at $5.5M = what KO gets.

3M

 

[8893]

I'm going to start the bidding at $5.5M = what KO gets.

3M

Before I knew he'd been Millered, I thought he might get something between $5M and $7M. Now I'm thinking $3M or less, perhaps with a nice donation to Kevin's Kourts or the 21st Century Tolland Fund as a kicker.