SI story on self sanctions

[Russ Smith]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/george_dohrmann/02/08/arizona/1.html

Kind of interesting I didn't know about the TOC setup in North Carolina and I'm sure Simon and Pastner aren't too thrilled about this story and their role in the violations.

It's a trivial thing overall but it does imply the story was a bit more than UA let on at the time.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Screw you Livengood.

There's also a couple factual errors in that article.

 

[CatBoxBackFan]

Screw you Livengood.

There's also a couple factual errors in that article.

And? (Jeopardy theme song playing)

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

The Cactus Classic was Jim Storey's idea, not the Arizona coaching staff (Lute, Kevin O'Neill, and all the assistants) although to be fair they did encourage it once they reaped the benefits. Storey had just as much to gain by bringing top talent to Tucson as did Lute, Pastner, and Simon. Suggesting he was some unwilling accomplice is complete revisionist history.

Also, dismissing the TOC down in North Carolina as some clean event is laughable as well. I'm guessing more money from Duke, State, and UNC boosters go to that event than all the Cactus Classic's combined except that Sendek, Lowe, K, and Roy weren't dumb enough to send an e-mail asking for donations. Or if they did there wasn't a culture of backstabbing and juvenile grudges cultivated within their athletic departments that allowed the inevitable college sports dirty laundry to be aired by a spiteful ex-employee (Roz) or a bitter and emasculated athletic director (Livengood).

Pennell and Dunlap were not technically university employees during the Classic in 2008. They had verbally agreed to become assistants under Lute but due to state law the job had to be posted for ten days before any hire could become official. So yeah, it's a bit of a gray area there but it's not like they were snooping in from the rafters. They were out in the open scouting which was acceptable under NCAA rules as they were not officially assistant coaches. It's somewhat of a ridiculous rule anyways, during these periods every coach has someone filming games which is e-mailed to them within seconds of the final whistle.

Finally, the players Arizona landed due to this event were Jamelle Horne, Brendon Lavender, Alex Jacobsen, and Zane Johnson. If the NCAA wants to revoke their scholarships I don't think you'd have many Arizona fans complaining. The Classic was an overall negative for Arizona recruiting before we self-imposed these sanctions. Regardless, all the guilty parties are gone and the new AD will have a chance to build an athletic department that does things the right way and won't throw each other under the bus due to childish grudges.

 

[Mr. Boldin]

The fact that people are turning the Cactus Classic into something that it wasnt just makes me laugh.

This tournament would still be up and running if Livengood had the balls and the brains to help stage this tournament properly along with the compliance director.

Yeah, Lute and Storey messed up, but there are a few media outlets and one lunatic running an Arizona site that are spewing bad information left and right.

The SI article wasnt bad, but I expect the national media to get bad facts on the story, just like they did during Lute's LOA and the coaching search. The problem is that everyone around the country believes what ESPN and SI say, because they are on TV and sell magazines.

 

[Russ Smith]

The fact that people are turning the Cactus Classic into something that it wasnt just makes me laugh.

This tournament would still be up and running if Livengood had the balls and the brains to help stage this tournament properly along with the compliance director.

Actually if they did that UA would be on probation not just self sanctioning. The whole point is that UA can't be officially involved in the tournament, that's what the author is trying to allege, that they were.

Elite camps are pretty similar but they're not during dead periods.

It's not a huge deal I just found it an interesting read in there was stuff there not included in prior articles on the situation.

 

[Mr. Boldin]

Actually if they did that UA would be on probation not just self sanctioning. The whole point is that UA can't be officially involved in the tournament, that's what the author is trying to allege, that they were.

Elite camps are pretty similar but they're not during dead periods.

It's not a huge deal I just found it an interesting read in there was stuff there not included in prior articles on the situation.

No, Livengood and the compliance people dont need to be on the tournament board or any of that. What they needed to do was speak with everyone in the program on what they can and cant do, much like every other compliance department does on a yearly basis. They also can inform the organizers of the tournament and boosters what is and is not permissible.

That has nothing to do with being involved with the tournament, its a precautionary measure. If a AAU tournament is going to be held on campus and I am the AD or work in compliance, the first thing I do is make sure everyone knows ALL the rules.

Livengood, Lute, Storey, ect all made mistakes. However they could have easily avoided this situation by addressing the problems and the consequences before the tournament was held each year.

The UA is on probation and the reason why this situation was self reported and then investiagted by the NCAA is because of the letter that was sent to the boosters with Lute's signature.

Everything here is a minor violation, however the letter and the costs the tournament absorbed in order to get teams to attend brought on the investigation. Those things should have been covered from day 1.