As Kansas prepares for the NCAA men’s national championship on Monday, the program still awaits possible penalties for five Level I violations stemming back from 2019.
Kansas could face a loss of scholarships, postseason bans, or other punishments for head coach Bill Self’s “lack of institutional control” over the program. The case has gone through the Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP), formed in 2018 by a commission led by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
To some onlookers, including Dick Vitale, the long delay is unacceptable. The decorated broadcaster admonished the NCAA’s lethargic process and suggested that his recently retired friend could fix the institution.
“It is INSANE how the @NCAA takes forever in ruling on cases,” Vitale wrote on Twitter Sunday. “Man it effects [sic] lives & it is a TOTAL DISGRACE that it takes years to make a decision. Make COACH K COMMISSIONER FOR HOOPS & these embarrassing situations would cease.”
It is INSANE how the @NCAA takes forever in ruling on cases. Man it effects lives & it is a TOTAL DISGRACE that it takes years to make a decision.. Make COACH K COMMISSIONER FOR HOOPS & these embarrassing situations would cease.@ESPNPR https://t.co/LYYQohZple
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) April 3, 2022
It’s unlikely that one person could successfully overhaul an entire stagnant system. In fact, Congressional members are proposing sweeping changes to the NCAA investigation process.
According to Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated, senators Marsha Blackburn and Cory Booker will introduce the NCAA Accountability Act of 2021, a bipartisan bill that aims to “streamline, shorten and bring greater equity” to the ruling process by involving the Department of Justice and U.S. attorney general.
Per Brett Martel of the Associated Press, NCAA President Mark Emmert acknowledged that the investigation into Kansas has taken “way too long,” While he didn’t offer a direct solution, he said the IARP has slowed down the case, and any new process has “got to be fair.”
“It’s got to be swift,” Emmert said. “And it’s got to not punish the innocent. … That’s where the membership’s got to be in all of this, as they shape a new process or rebuild the one that’s in place.”
It’d be unfair to expect Mike Krzyzewski (or any one person) to have all the answers, but the NCAA needs to find a way to lessen these gridlock issues.
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