With a sign that says, "If you see this guy around our athletic programs or this stadium, flush first and ask questions later!"
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- Thread starter OSUBasketballJunkie
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LightningRod
Legend
The devil is always in the details. Hopefully the athletic department is doing a better job of "following up."
Could have been prevented
Could have been prevented
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
I am under the impression that the NCAA has been aware of this and this thing will be wrapped up in the next few months. Hindsight is always 20/20.
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SI.com article on the NCAA investigation:
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- New allegations that a booster provided money for an Ohio State basketball player and helped devise a ruse to cover it up have surfaced in depositions given as part of a lawsuit involving the program under coach Jim O'Brien.
O'Brien was fired last summer after testimony in the lawsuit revealed he had given $6,000 to a recruit in 1999.
An NCAA investigation of the program continues, although a booster says in his deposition that NCAA investigators didn't ask about the payment or his relationship with the coaching staff during a 5 1/2-hour meeting.
In a deposition relating to the lawsuit, a friend of former Ohio State player Boban Savovic alleges that he gave Savovic money and worked with then-Ohio State assistant coach Paul Biancardi to ease the transition to college for Savovic and other basketball recruits with Serbian backgrounds.
Michael Sierawski befriended Savovic on the day he arrived at the Columbus airport.
Sierawski said he was told by Biancardi to buy clothing for another Serbian, Aleksandar Radojevic, who was recruited by the Buckeyes. It was Radojevic to whom O'Brien gave the $6,000.
Sierawski said NCAA investigators who met with him didn't do a thorough job.
"The NCAA never asked me about Paul [Biancardi] and money and gifts to Alex," Sierawski said in a deposition. "I didn't answer any questions they didn't ask me."
Biancardi, now the head coach at Wright State, denies the allegation in his deposition, saying he never authorized payments or gifts to any Ohio State players. In his statement, Biancardi said anything the players received was provided by fans who wanted to be close to the program.
"I knew that Mike Sierawski was excited that Boban was coming to Columbus," Biancardi said. "He conveyed that, and he wanted to try to help him if he could or have the church help him because of their Serbian descent."
Sierawski said Ohio State officials found out in July of 1998 that he had written a check for $500 for Savovic's housing. Sierawski testified that he gave the check to Dan and Kim Roslovic to help the couple, now divorced, with the expense of housing Savovic.
After Ohio State discovered the $500 payment to the Roslovics, it notified the NCAA, which required Savovic to make restitution in order to remain eligible.
Sierawski said he also provided that $500 of restitution.
"I gave Boban the $500 to give me back," Sierawski said.
Asked if anyone else knew about the payback ruse, Sierawski said, "No. This is the first time I have ever mentioned it to anybody. Even the NCAA guys, they never asked me that question."
According to at least two of the depositions, the Roslovics were told they could not house Savovic because they were Ohio State boosters and it would be an NCAA violation.
Kathleen Salyers, who was a babysitter and house cleaner for the Roslovics, alleges the Roslovics asked her to take in Savovic and promised to pay her $1,000 a month plus expenses. She says she spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on Savovic and did papers and classwork for him.
Her lawsuit against the Roslovics was dismissed last week by a Franklin County Common Pleas judge who said the alleged oral contract was unenforceable.
Salyers told The Associated Press on Saturday she wants to refile the lawsuit, but that she and her lawyers haven't decided whether they will.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- New allegations that a booster provided money for an Ohio State basketball player and helped devise a ruse to cover it up have surfaced in depositions given as part of a lawsuit involving the program under coach Jim O'Brien.
O'Brien was fired last summer after testimony in the lawsuit revealed he had given $6,000 to a recruit in 1999.
An NCAA investigation of the program continues, although a booster says in his deposition that NCAA investigators didn't ask about the payment or his relationship with the coaching staff during a 5 1/2-hour meeting.
In a deposition relating to the lawsuit, a friend of former Ohio State player Boban Savovic alleges that he gave Savovic money and worked with then-Ohio State assistant coach Paul Biancardi to ease the transition to college for Savovic and other basketball recruits with Serbian backgrounds.
Michael Sierawski befriended Savovic on the day he arrived at the Columbus airport.
Sierawski said he was told by Biancardi to buy clothing for another Serbian, Aleksandar Radojevic, who was recruited by the Buckeyes. It was Radojevic to whom O'Brien gave the $6,000.
Sierawski said NCAA investigators who met with him didn't do a thorough job.
"The NCAA never asked me about Paul [Biancardi] and money and gifts to Alex," Sierawski said in a deposition. "I didn't answer any questions they didn't ask me."
Biancardi, now the head coach at Wright State, denies the allegation in his deposition, saying he never authorized payments or gifts to any Ohio State players. In his statement, Biancardi said anything the players received was provided by fans who wanted to be close to the program.
"I knew that Mike Sierawski was excited that Boban was coming to Columbus," Biancardi said. "He conveyed that, and he wanted to try to help him if he could or have the church help him because of their Serbian descent."
Sierawski said Ohio State officials found out in July of 1998 that he had written a check for $500 for Savovic's housing. Sierawski testified that he gave the check to Dan and Kim Roslovic to help the couple, now divorced, with the expense of housing Savovic.
After Ohio State discovered the $500 payment to the Roslovics, it notified the NCAA, which required Savovic to make restitution in order to remain eligible.
Sierawski said he also provided that $500 of restitution.
"I gave Boban the $500 to give me back," Sierawski said.
Asked if anyone else knew about the payback ruse, Sierawski said, "No. This is the first time I have ever mentioned it to anybody. Even the NCAA guys, they never asked me that question."
According to at least two of the depositions, the Roslovics were told they could not house Savovic because they were Ohio State boosters and it would be an NCAA violation.
Kathleen Salyers, who was a babysitter and house cleaner for the Roslovics, alleges the Roslovics asked her to take in Savovic and promised to pay her $1,000 a month plus expenses. She says she spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on Savovic and did papers and classwork for him.
Her lawsuit against the Roslovics was dismissed last week by a Franklin County Common Pleas judge who said the alleged oral contract was unenforceable.
Salyers told The Associated Press on Saturday she wants to refile the lawsuit, but that she and her lawyers haven't decided whether they will.
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From Stewart Mandel at SI.com
Dirty deeds
OSU could face harsh fate for ex-coaches' actions
Allegations that for the past 11 months were largely discredited in Columbus, Ohio, as the crazy rantings of a disgruntled housekeeper gained considerable legitimacy Monday. According to the NCAA, the Ohio State men's basketball program did some bad things in the late 1990s. In particular, formerly revered head coach Jim O'Brien and respected assistant Paul Biancardi (now the head coach at Wright State) did some very bad things.
And for that, current head coach Thad Matta -- his reputation to date seemingly clean as a whistle -- and a group of players who were in middle school when most of the transgressions occurred could soon be paying a severe price.
The NCAA on Monday sent Ohio State the initial findings of its investigation into the men's basketball, the women's basketball and the football programs. While the latter two were limited to a single allegation each of improper benefits given to athletes (in the case of football, a $500 payment by a booster to a player, assumed, based on previous reports, to be QB Troy Smith), the O'Brien-era Buckeyes were nailed with seven allegations. The most serious charges are that O'Brien and Biancardi knowingly withheld knowledge of NCAA rules violations in which they were involved, and that O'Brien and the university failed to properly monitor the conduct of the program.
Nearly everything in the 19-page portion of the report relating to men's basketball corroborates allegations made more than a year ago by Columbus-area housekeeper Kathleen Salyers. The suit, dismissed by a judge last week, claimed OSU boosters Dan and Kim Roslovic reneged on an agreement to pay her $1,000 a month plus reimburse expenses if she would provide for Buckeyes player Boban Savovic during his 1998-2002 career. Savovic lived with the Roslovics upon arriving in Columbus in June 1998, but was forced to move out when Ohio State learned about the arrangement. He then moved in with Salyers, the Roslovics' housekeeper and babysitter.
Though she knew almost nothing about basketball before Savovic arrived in her home that summer and says she never previously attended an OSU game, Salyers, due to her relationship and arrangement with the Roslovics, became, by NCAA definition, a booster. To that end and largely in keeping with her own description of the relationship in her lawsuit depositions, the NCAA report lists 31 impermissible benefits Salyers provided Savovic during his time in Columbus, everything from food, transportation, clothing, air fare and spending money to Kohl's and Structure gift certificates and a Nintendo Game Boy. One of the NCAA's other alleged violations involves similar benefits Salyers provided for one-time recruit Alex Radojevic.
The first allegation on the list also involves Radojevic, and it's the one to which O'Brien previously admitted and was fired for: his $6,700 payment to assist Radojevic's struggling family in Yugoslavia. At the time of his firing last June, O'Brien was portrayed far and wide as a long upstanding coach who was being harshly punished for a well-intended gesture, albeit an illegal one.
The NCAA findings released Monday show several other instances of O'Brien's warm-hearted kindness. Unfortunately, those instances were also accompanied by what was either extreme naivete or outright abuse of NCAA rules.
For instance, according to the NCAA, O'Brien gave Salyers two OSU season tickets during Savovic's four-year career. When asked about it by school investigators, he said he was "... doing something nice for somebody [Salyers] that was nice to him [Savovic] when he needed it."
Furthermore, the NCAA said both O'Brien and Biancardi were aware of Salyers' relationship with the Roslovics when they attended a meeting with Ohio State compliance officials in July 1998 to determine where Savovic would live for the rest of the summer. While conveniently failing to mention the Salyers-Roslovic connection, Biancardi suggested Savovic move in with a friend he'd made at a summer basketball league. That friend happened to be Salyers' son, Rob Huston. Savovic was explicitly told he would have to pay rent wherever he moved, but no one from the OSU compliance office ever followed up to see if that was the case because of Biancardi's "assurances that the arrangement was permissible." Meanwhile, Biancardi, who university phone records show was in constant contact with Salyers during Savovic's career, even instructed her to make certain payments on behalf of the player, according to the NCAA.
Finally, the NCAA said O'Brien "did not appropriately monitor the continuing relationship between [Salyers and Savovic] to ensure compliance with NCAA legislation."
Asked Monday about the competency of his compliance office -- which failed to discover the true nature of the Salyers-Savovic relationship even after an article about it appeared in OSU's own game program during the player's sophomore season -- newly hired athletic director Gene Smith instead deflected blame to the coaches. "There are no systemic problems in our compliance area," he said. "The reality is, you cannot legislate integrity."
Both Smith and university president Karen Holbrook made a point of continually emphasizing Monday that the transgressions took place a long time ago; that the school took swift action upon learning of them by firing O'Brien (he has since sued the school for wrongful termination) and imposing a voluntary postseason ban last year; and that almost all the violations disclosed Monday were self-reported by the school.
Of course, they have to say these things.
It's all part of the ongoing process by which the school essentially begs for leniency from the NCAA's Committee on Infractions, which is expected to hear the case in September and will ultimately determine any further sanctions, by being as cooperative and proactive as possible. The school may even impose its own additional sanctions -- like forfeiture of wins and removal of records from the two Big Ten championship teams and 1999 Final Four team for which Savovic played -- but will try to convince the NCAA to spare future teams of further restrictions.
Historically, however, the NCAA has shown little compassion for the innocent in dealing with the violations of their predecessors.
The most comparable recent case to Ohio State's took place at Michigan, where a joint investigation by the NCAA and the FBI found that booster Ed Martin used funds from an illegal gambling operation to lavish four ex-Wolverines with money and gifts.
While the Michigan scandal involved much bigger player names -- such as Chris Webber and Robert Traylor -- and larger amounts of money -- reportedly $616,000 in total benefits -- an examination of NCAA case precedent indicates the Ohio State findings may actually merit harsher sanctions than the Wolverines'.
For one thing, the Michigan case solely involved the issue of booster payments, while the Ohio State findings also delve into academics (one of the violations is that Salyers wrote numerous academic papers for Savovic) and the alleged use of NBA agents in recruiting (university phone records show hundreds of calls from O'Brien and Biancardi to Semi Pajovic, who, at various points, represented himself as being Savovic's "uncle" and Radojevic's "guardian" but is actually a partner of NBA agent Marc Cornstein, and who, according to the NCAA, served as a middleman for the $6,700 payment to Radojevic).
More importantly, though, is the direct involvement of O'Brien and Biancardi in several of the violations.
While investigators in the Michigan case did conclude that ex-coach Steve Fisher had befriended Martin and given him free tickets and various other perks, they never found any proof that Fisher knew of Martin's payments to the players. In this case, the NCAA has phone records and witness interviews supporting the contention that O'Brien and Biancardi not only knew of Salyers' relationship with Savovic but also that Biancardi helped orchestrate it. They even have O'Brien's own testimony regarding giving the tickets to Salyers.
In Michigan's case, the committee elected to add a second year to the school's self-imposed one-year postseason ban, extend its probation from two years to four and take away four scholarships (the school had already voluntarily forfeited wins and removed all banners and records from the teams involved and returned money from its postseason appearances).
The school, however, successfully appealed to have the second-year postseason ban revoked. In rendering the decision, the head of the NCAA's Infractions Appeals Committee wrote, "A review of [past] decisions ... which upheld a postseason ban revealed the presence of one or more of the following factors in each case: repeat violator status, lack of institutional control, or academic fraud. None of these factors is present in this case."
It's entirely possible that in this case the committee will ultimately determine a presence of academic fraud, and while "failure to monitor" doesn't carry the same severity as "lack of institutional control," it certainly indicates a belief that school officials could have prevented at least some of the transgressions.
The NCAA report couldn't come at a worse time for Matta, who has been successfully assembling one of the nation's top recruiting classes for next year. Matta, whose first team at OSU was the surprise of the Big Ten, winning 20 games and handing Illinois its only regular-season loss, has already landed commitments from two in-state top-25 recruits in the Class of 2006, shooting guard Daequan Cook (Dayton) and swingman David Lighty (Cleveland), and recently hosted an official visit from the consensus top prospect in the country, Indianapolis 7-footer Greg Oden.
Ohio State will spend the next several months trying to convince the NCAA that it's corrected its ways and that the worst is behind it. Matta will have to convince the recruits of the same thing.
Dirty deeds
OSU could face harsh fate for ex-coaches' actions
Allegations that for the past 11 months were largely discredited in Columbus, Ohio, as the crazy rantings of a disgruntled housekeeper gained considerable legitimacy Monday. According to the NCAA, the Ohio State men's basketball program did some bad things in the late 1990s. In particular, formerly revered head coach Jim O'Brien and respected assistant Paul Biancardi (now the head coach at Wright State) did some very bad things.
And for that, current head coach Thad Matta -- his reputation to date seemingly clean as a whistle -- and a group of players who were in middle school when most of the transgressions occurred could soon be paying a severe price.
The NCAA on Monday sent Ohio State the initial findings of its investigation into the men's basketball, the women's basketball and the football programs. While the latter two were limited to a single allegation each of improper benefits given to athletes (in the case of football, a $500 payment by a booster to a player, assumed, based on previous reports, to be QB Troy Smith), the O'Brien-era Buckeyes were nailed with seven allegations. The most serious charges are that O'Brien and Biancardi knowingly withheld knowledge of NCAA rules violations in which they were involved, and that O'Brien and the university failed to properly monitor the conduct of the program.
Nearly everything in the 19-page portion of the report relating to men's basketball corroborates allegations made more than a year ago by Columbus-area housekeeper Kathleen Salyers. The suit, dismissed by a judge last week, claimed OSU boosters Dan and Kim Roslovic reneged on an agreement to pay her $1,000 a month plus reimburse expenses if she would provide for Buckeyes player Boban Savovic during his 1998-2002 career. Savovic lived with the Roslovics upon arriving in Columbus in June 1998, but was forced to move out when Ohio State learned about the arrangement. He then moved in with Salyers, the Roslovics' housekeeper and babysitter.
Though she knew almost nothing about basketball before Savovic arrived in her home that summer and says she never previously attended an OSU game, Salyers, due to her relationship and arrangement with the Roslovics, became, by NCAA definition, a booster. To that end and largely in keeping with her own description of the relationship in her lawsuit depositions, the NCAA report lists 31 impermissible benefits Salyers provided Savovic during his time in Columbus, everything from food, transportation, clothing, air fare and spending money to Kohl's and Structure gift certificates and a Nintendo Game Boy. One of the NCAA's other alleged violations involves similar benefits Salyers provided for one-time recruit Alex Radojevic.
The first allegation on the list also involves Radojevic, and it's the one to which O'Brien previously admitted and was fired for: his $6,700 payment to assist Radojevic's struggling family in Yugoslavia. At the time of his firing last June, O'Brien was portrayed far and wide as a long upstanding coach who was being harshly punished for a well-intended gesture, albeit an illegal one.
The NCAA findings released Monday show several other instances of O'Brien's warm-hearted kindness. Unfortunately, those instances were also accompanied by what was either extreme naivete or outright abuse of NCAA rules.
For instance, according to the NCAA, O'Brien gave Salyers two OSU season tickets during Savovic's four-year career. When asked about it by school investigators, he said he was "... doing something nice for somebody [Salyers] that was nice to him [Savovic] when he needed it."
Furthermore, the NCAA said both O'Brien and Biancardi were aware of Salyers' relationship with the Roslovics when they attended a meeting with Ohio State compliance officials in July 1998 to determine where Savovic would live for the rest of the summer. While conveniently failing to mention the Salyers-Roslovic connection, Biancardi suggested Savovic move in with a friend he'd made at a summer basketball league. That friend happened to be Salyers' son, Rob Huston. Savovic was explicitly told he would have to pay rent wherever he moved, but no one from the OSU compliance office ever followed up to see if that was the case because of Biancardi's "assurances that the arrangement was permissible." Meanwhile, Biancardi, who university phone records show was in constant contact with Salyers during Savovic's career, even instructed her to make certain payments on behalf of the player, according to the NCAA.
Finally, the NCAA said O'Brien "did not appropriately monitor the continuing relationship between [Salyers and Savovic] to ensure compliance with NCAA legislation."
Asked Monday about the competency of his compliance office -- which failed to discover the true nature of the Salyers-Savovic relationship even after an article about it appeared in OSU's own game program during the player's sophomore season -- newly hired athletic director Gene Smith instead deflected blame to the coaches. "There are no systemic problems in our compliance area," he said. "The reality is, you cannot legislate integrity."
Both Smith and university president Karen Holbrook made a point of continually emphasizing Monday that the transgressions took place a long time ago; that the school took swift action upon learning of them by firing O'Brien (he has since sued the school for wrongful termination) and imposing a voluntary postseason ban last year; and that almost all the violations disclosed Monday were self-reported by the school.
Of course, they have to say these things.
It's all part of the ongoing process by which the school essentially begs for leniency from the NCAA's Committee on Infractions, which is expected to hear the case in September and will ultimately determine any further sanctions, by being as cooperative and proactive as possible. The school may even impose its own additional sanctions -- like forfeiture of wins and removal of records from the two Big Ten championship teams and 1999 Final Four team for which Savovic played -- but will try to convince the NCAA to spare future teams of further restrictions.
Historically, however, the NCAA has shown little compassion for the innocent in dealing with the violations of their predecessors.
The most comparable recent case to Ohio State's took place at Michigan, where a joint investigation by the NCAA and the FBI found that booster Ed Martin used funds from an illegal gambling operation to lavish four ex-Wolverines with money and gifts.
While the Michigan scandal involved much bigger player names -- such as Chris Webber and Robert Traylor -- and larger amounts of money -- reportedly $616,000 in total benefits -- an examination of NCAA case precedent indicates the Ohio State findings may actually merit harsher sanctions than the Wolverines'.
For one thing, the Michigan case solely involved the issue of booster payments, while the Ohio State findings also delve into academics (one of the violations is that Salyers wrote numerous academic papers for Savovic) and the alleged use of NBA agents in recruiting (university phone records show hundreds of calls from O'Brien and Biancardi to Semi Pajovic, who, at various points, represented himself as being Savovic's "uncle" and Radojevic's "guardian" but is actually a partner of NBA agent Marc Cornstein, and who, according to the NCAA, served as a middleman for the $6,700 payment to Radojevic).
More importantly, though, is the direct involvement of O'Brien and Biancardi in several of the violations.
While investigators in the Michigan case did conclude that ex-coach Steve Fisher had befriended Martin and given him free tickets and various other perks, they never found any proof that Fisher knew of Martin's payments to the players. In this case, the NCAA has phone records and witness interviews supporting the contention that O'Brien and Biancardi not only knew of Salyers' relationship with Savovic but also that Biancardi helped orchestrate it. They even have O'Brien's own testimony regarding giving the tickets to Salyers.
In Michigan's case, the committee elected to add a second year to the school's self-imposed one-year postseason ban, extend its probation from two years to four and take away four scholarships (the school had already voluntarily forfeited wins and removed all banners and records from the teams involved and returned money from its postseason appearances).
The school, however, successfully appealed to have the second-year postseason ban revoked. In rendering the decision, the head of the NCAA's Infractions Appeals Committee wrote, "A review of [past] decisions ... which upheld a postseason ban revealed the presence of one or more of the following factors in each case: repeat violator status, lack of institutional control, or academic fraud. None of these factors is present in this case."
It's entirely possible that in this case the committee will ultimately determine a presence of academic fraud, and while "failure to monitor" doesn't carry the same severity as "lack of institutional control," it certainly indicates a belief that school officials could have prevented at least some of the transgressions.
The NCAA report couldn't come at a worse time for Matta, who has been successfully assembling one of the nation's top recruiting classes for next year. Matta, whose first team at OSU was the surprise of the Big Ten, winning 20 games and handing Illinois its only regular-season loss, has already landed commitments from two in-state top-25 recruits in the Class of 2006, shooting guard Daequan Cook (Dayton) and swingman David Lighty (Cleveland), and recently hosted an official visit from the consensus top prospect in the country, Indianapolis 7-footer Greg Oden.
Ohio State will spend the next several months trying to convince the NCAA that it's corrected its ways and that the worst is behind it. Matta will have to convince the recruits of the same thing.
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BuckeyeTillIDie
The North Remembers
Oh, imagine that
And the line about this being worse than scUM's problem? C'mon.
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Kids don't sign LOIs til November. This was going to come out at some point and the sooner the better. No kid could be faulted for withdrawing a verbal when new allegations arise so an announcement for Oden or Conley this month or next would have been pretty meaningless. Those kids are now very long shots if you ask me and the ONLY way you land players with the options they have is if the NCAA makes their final pronouncements prior to the November signing period.
Certainly sports reporters are going to twist stuff and sensationalize it - that is standard practice (just ask Newsweek). But the fact is that this stuff happened and it happened here.
Lots of folks were whining all of last season that Geiger overreatced by proactively taking us out of post season play. I am convinced that simple act is the reason we are not looking at 'lack of instutitional control'.
Time to suck it up and roll with it. Be thankful Matta is signed to a long term contract and wait patiently for the day when this is really behind us.
OSU doesn't deserve all of the carp that is being thrown our way - but we do deserve some of it.
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
OSU president Karen Holbrook
Smith, Holbrook Address NCAA Allegations
By Steve Helwagen Managing Editor
Date: May 16, 2005
OSU President Karen Holbrook and athletic director Gene Smith met with the media this afternoon to address nine allegations made by the NCAA against the football and men's and women's basketball programs. (NOTE: This story was updated at 6:45 p.m. with more details, quotes and statements from basketball coach Thad Matta and football coach Jim Tressel.)
Ohio State held a press conference this afternoon to share details on the notice of allegations it received from the NCAA on charges of violations in the football and men’s and women’s basketball programs.
“Our receipt of this report brings to a close this phase of our joint investigation that is now moving forward toward conclusion,” OSU President Karen Holbrook said. “The actions we have taken to date are commensurate with the serious nature of these charges and with our commitment to maintain a great athletic program that fully complies with NCAA rules.”
Holbrook was joined at the news conference by newly hired OSU athletic director Gene Smith.
OSU must now respond to the NCAA by July 26 on the nine main allegations described in the letter. The NCAA’s Committee on Infractions will then hear the case in either September or October and could hand down further sanctions against OSU as early as November.
Although Smith is a former member of the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions, he stopped short of predicting what additional sanctions OSU may face. The school self-imposed a postseason ban in men’s basketball this past season.
Seven of the nine allegations revealed today deal with the men’s basketball program. The football and women’s basketball program each had one allegation named.
In a nutshell, here is what the NCAA alleged in its letter to OSU today:
* In 1998, then-men's basketball coach Jim O'Brien arranged through assistant Paul Biancardi the payment of approximately $6,700 to then-recruit Alex Radojevic;
* Kathleen Salyers had improper in person contacts and impermissibly provided recruiting inducements to Radojevic;
* An individiual who became a booster gave recruiting inducements and benefits to a former men's basketball student-athlete, including meals, cash payments and living expenses (Because of federal laws, OSU provided a redacted copy of the NCAA’s allegations, erasing the names of key figures. However, it is believed this relates to Salyers’ benefits provided to Boban Savovic.);
* A booster provided a former men's basketball student-athlete with impermissible academic assistance (again, this may relate to Salyers’ assistance of Savovic);
* O'Brien impermissibly provided Salyers with two season tickets for four consecutive seasons;
* O'Brien and Biancardi acted contrary to the principles of ethical conduct by failing to report their involvement in the violations above;
* Both the institution and O'Brien failed to monitor the conduct and administration of the men's basketball program;
* Ronald Erkis, a Columbus orthodontist, provided impermissible cost-free or discounted services to several women's basketball players; and
* A booster provided an impermissible extra benefit to a football student athlete for $500 cash for work that was never performed (this takes in Robert Baker’s payment to Troy Smith).
The Troy Smith allegation is the only one where the NCAA found proof of wrongdoing in the football program. Gene Smith said the NCAA investigated a number of claims made by Maurice Clarett and others.
Smith will serve the second of a two-game suspension for the 2005 season opener against Miami (Ohio). Otherwise, the football program – after months of bad publicity – seems to be free and clear.
“There was a thorough investigation by the NCAA and our staff,” Gene Smith said. “What you see before you is what you see in football.”
Regarding the basketball allegations, Gene Smith also noted the distinction of the charge “failure to monitor.” That is a step below the NCAA’s wide ranging count of “lack of institutional control,” a finding that could have led to much stiffer penalties.
“Those are two different charges,” Gene Smith said. “Lack of institutional control is the heaviest charge we can receive from the NCAA. Failure to monitor is at another level, a lesser charge than a lack of institutional control.”
Smith was asked about OSU’s compliance staff. It was reported that the compliance staff requested that Savovic move out of the home of OSU boosters Dan and Kim Roslovic. But nobody apparently ever followed up to see that he had moved in with Salyers.
“I’ve been fortunate to study our operation,” Smith said. “I see no systemic problems in our compliance area. We have outstanding leadership. We are very comfortable with what our compliance office did in that regard.
“But you can not legislate integrity.”
Smith was asked about systemic changes at OSU regarding the handling of boosters.
“The institution, prior to my arrival, already made changes,” he said. “They did a marvelous job of increasing booster education. The compliance office in my view is in very good shape. The area we needed to focus on the most was booster education. Secondly, the area we needed to heighten the most was for our student-athletes.
“This case is a teachable moment for all of us – our student-athletes and our boosters and fans. What you write will hopefully send a message that there is a right way to help our institution and our student-athletes. Our compliance office can only do so much. In the end, we need good people to help us to continue to do the right thing.”
Holbrook was asked if she was embarrassed or disappointed that the university is tied to such an elaborate plan to flout NCAA rules with the money paid to Radojevic and his family.
“I think the biggest disappointment is the obviously the things tied to the men’s basketball program,” she said. “But that’s going back five years. That covers the period of time before Gene and I were here. But this was an in-depth study of what was going on at that point in time.
“It was brought out clearly to us last spring. At that point, we worked with the NCAA to go as deeply as we could. Our first action was to dismiss the coach.”
Penalties for the basketball program could include the vacation of the Big Ten championships and the 1999 NCAA Final Four berth won while Savovic was on the team. OSU could also repay NCAA Tournament money and may lose scholarships going forward.
“Anything is a possibility,” Smith admitted.
Holbrook was asked if the NCAA’s findings vindicate the school against legal action from O’Brien, who claimed his firing was without cause.
“I don’t think I can really say anything because it’s an ongoing case right now with Coach O’Brien,” Holbrook said. “I think with an ongoing situation comments ought not to be made.”
Holbrook was asked about the notion that OSU escaped the wrath of the NCAA in regards to the numerous allegations alleged by Clarett and others against the football program.
“After looking at the report carefully and looking at the depth they went into in the basketball situation and the very strong detail that was there, I wouldn’t imagine that anybody would think they went into the football case with any less depth,” she said.
Smith was asked about the timeline for the NCAA handing down penalties for the men’s basketball program. With the early signing period in November, prospective athletes may like to know if the program will face any future penalties.
“I can’t guarantee it,” Smith said in regards to whether the penalties could be handed down by the beginning of that signing period.
Reporters continued to ask Smith about potential penalties.
“Our staff and the NCAA have worked jointly on this,” he said. “I think that’s pretty positive for us that they have been engaged from the beginning. That’s why we anticipated these allegations. As we move toward the hearing, I think that bodes well for us.
“I’ve been on the infractions committee. I’ve seen the Georgia case, the Michigan case and the Fresno case. Every case is different. We can not speculate how the committee is going to respond. We are fortunate that the NCAA is trying to be a kinder, gentler NCAA. We may benefit from that. We may also benefit from the fact that this has been a team effort to get us where we are. The institution has been forthright with everything. The majority of these things were self reported.”
Coaches Reactions
Regarding the football program, the letter of allegations is somewhat of a vindication in that no other allegations beyond the Troy Smith situation were found.
“Jim (Tressel) knows (about the report) and he is relieved,” Gene Smith said.
Tressel issued the following statement:
"I am pleased there were no new football allegations in the letter received today from the NCAA, but that will not change our passion to continue to educate our coaches, student-athletes and boosters in the area of compliance. We know compliance is job one and we take it very seriously.
"We have always believed in our intentions and we understand the importance of representing Ohio State at the very highest level in terms of integrity. We appreciate, too, the tremendous job that our compliance office has done in educating, and being a resource for, our student-athletes."
Likewise, Smith said he will “battle hard” for the future of the men’s basketball program.
“The institution applied its own postseason ban, and I thought that was a great strategy,” Smith said. “We need to do everything to battle and protect the future of that program. That’s these kids, their future opportunities, these scholarships. That will be our mantra going into the NCAA infractions.”
Men’s basketball coach Thad Matta issued a statement on the NCAA report.
“The future of Ohio State basketball is bright,” Matta said. “We were made aware of the situation that has occurred today, and we look forward to a final ruling regarding this matter so we can put it behind us.
“As all of you know, in December we gave the program a self-imposed ban from postseason play. Was this ban a severe penalty? All you had to do was look into the eyes of (seniors) Brandon (Fuss-Cheatham), Tony (Stockman) and Matt (Marinchick) in the locker room after the Illinois game to know how severe a postseason ban can be, especially for this team and this season.
“Those of you who follow Ohio State basketball know that none of the current players or coaching staff were involved with the program at the time of these infractions. After spending a year at Ohio State, with the successes we have had and continue to have, I am thrilled in the direction our program is heading.”
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
SCOUT.COM$
5/20/05
5/20/05
Thad Matta
The State Of OSU Basketball
By Kyle Lamb
Date: May 19, 2005
What the NCAA found during their investigation of the OSU men's basketball program was revealed earlier this week, but what will come of those findings won't be known for some time. How much more will OSU get penalized? And how will it affect the potential for a monster recruiting class? Kyle Lamb reviews the findings today and brings a look at what just might happen as far as punishments and recruiting. Click the link to check it out.
Basically the article discusses the NCAA findings and the fact the OSU program was charged with "failure to monitor" and not "lack of institutional control" which would have been worse. Ohio State has until July to give a written response to the NCAA regarding the seven violations. A hearing will be probably in the fall. Lamb feels like a lot of people that the final outcome will "most likely" be taking down banners and returning money, less likely a loss of scholarships or another post season ban.
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LightningRod
Legend
I know that Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota and Missouri have been cited as comparable cases to look at when trying to guess what ultimate punishment the basketball program may receive. For an case of excessive gifts over a period of years by a booster as well as academic fraud committed by a booster, look at the Notre Dame football program. In 1999 the NCAA released its public report. Notre Dame was not denied postseason play. The Domer report:
ND Infraction Report
ND Infraction Report
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
LightningRod....thanks for the link...I really don't think OSU will lose anything more than money and banners at this point.
wbns.com
5/20/05
wbns.com
5/20/05
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ohiobuck94
Buckeye Beach Bum
According to a poster on Rivals, AD Smith said on Cleveland Channel three that people will be surprised how well the NCAA investigation turns out.
Rivas $$$
Rivas $$$
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of course. only returning the favor for how gracious they were when we first visited their board.strohs said:
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