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NCAA Basketball Investigation/Lawsuit Thread (merged)

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If anybody watched the Dayton Dunbar vs. Lawrence North game on ESPN 2 last night (great game btw, all our commits played great!), they talked about this non-stop. If they weren't talking about Oden being the next Shaq (not that I'm complaining), they were talking about the clause in their paperwork that says they can opt out of their commitment should sanctions take away our postseason in 07. It was a bit sickening how many times they said that. :sick1:
 
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thackattack said:
If anybody watched the Dayton Dunbar vs. Lawrence North game on ESPN 2 last night (great game btw, all our commits played great!), they talked about this non-stop. If they weren't talking about Oden being the next Shaq (not that I'm complaining), they were talking about the clause in their paperwork that says they can opt out of their commitment should sanctions take away our postseason in 07. It was a bit sickening how many times they said that. :sick1:
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They also went on to say that any sanction in the announcing team's opinion probably would not affect the 2007 recruits.
 
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thackattack said:
If anybody watched the Dayton Dunbar vs. Lawrence North game on ESPN 2 last night (great game btw, all our commits played great!), they talked about this non-stop. If they weren't talking about Oden being the next Shaq (not that I'm complaining), they were talking about the clause in their paperwork that says they can opt out of their commitment should sanctions take away our postseason in 07. It was a bit sickening how many times they said that. :sick1:
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I don't know how many times last night I heard the words: "Ohio State", "Buckeyes", "Thad Matta", "Thad Five" or "these three will be playing together next year." Yes the investigation was brought up multiple times, but I guarentee that the positive publicity greatly outweighed the negative. Last night was basically a two hour infomercial on the future of OSU basketball. Heck, even Jayson Williams was saying that he wished we would've recruited him out of high school to come play here. I'll take those two hours of publicity any day of the week.
 
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The game last night actually reminded me quite a bit of the 2004 Alamo Bowl. The commentators in both situations spent a lot of time talking about Ohio State in general, including mostly the great positives and the bright future of the team/players. I was loving every minute of that Alamo Bowl victory, but I began to almost cringe when they would talk about another great thing about tOSU, just because I was imagining watching that game as an Oklahoma St. fan or as a non-OSU fan and having to listen to the lovefest with OSU. As a Buckeye I loved it, and same goes for last night. The spotlight definitely shone on The Ohio State University for about an hour and a half last night...beautiful. :oh:
 
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Interesting twist today...

apparently they suspended hearings without giving a reason. Some are speculating that it may have to do with the OBie lawsuit which starts monday.

I would paste the article, but I have not found a free one yet.
 
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12/10/05


OSU hearing continued
Saturday, December 10, 2005 The NCAA on Friday continued its hearing over whether Ohio State self-imposed adequate penalties for alleged violations in its athletic program, primarily in men’s basketball. The university said the NCAA’s Infraction Committee heard motions and arguments regarding procedural matters associated with the hearing, which could result in more sanctions for OSU.
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Will this saga ever end?
NCAA COMMITTEE
OSU’s hearing suddenly put off
Meanwhile, papers filed in O’Brien case suggest new violation to weigh
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Rob Oller and Kathy Lynn Gray
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA’s case against Ohio State took another strange turn yesterday. The organization’s infractions committee abruptly postponed a hearing on nine allegations against the athletics department just hours after it began.

Also yesterday, newly filed court documents revealed that former Ohio State Athletics Director Andy Geiger had testified during a deposition on March 17 that the university had determined that it lacked institutional control over the men’s basketball program.

A finding by the NCAA of a lack of institutional control would be a worst-case scenario for an athletics program. But despite Geiger’s statements under questioning by Brian Murphy, an attorney for fired basketball coach Jim O’Brien, OSU is facing only a lesser charge of "failing to monitor" the men’s basketball program. It is the only allegation OSU is disputing.

During a break in the NCAA hearing yesterday, Geiger, OSU President Karen A. Holbrook and current Athletics Director Gene Smith all declined to comment on the deposition.

"I can’t comment. I just got lectured to," Smith said, declining to name his lecturer.

The NCAA does not comment on current cases, but a statement it issued yesterday said the postponement "has nothing to do with the merits of the case."

Joe Murray, another attorney for O’Brien, said yesterday that the NCAA had requested copies of depositions given in the lawsuit but was turned down by Ohio State. He later backtracked, saying his comments had nothing to do with yesterday’s hearing.

Geiger’s testimony, filling 281 pages of transcript, was taken as part of a $9.5 million wrongful termination lawsuit O’Brien brought against OSU. O’Brien was fired June 8, 2004, after telling Geiger that he had given the family of Serbian basketball recruit Aleksandar Radojevic $6,000 in 1998.

O’Brien’s trial begins Monday in the Ohio Court of Claims. Attorneys filed a flurry of documents this week, including transcripts of 15 depositions.

In Geiger’s, Murphy asked whether the athletics department has "made a decision that there was a lack of institutional control."

Geiger answered, "I think we have realized that."

When asked if he had concluded that the "NCAA was going to make a finding of lack of institutional control," Geiger said, "Yes."

Geiger said he made that determination after O’Brien told him about the payment he made to Radojevic’s family.

O’Brien asserts in his lawsuit that Radojevic was a professional athlete at the time of the payment because he had played in Europe for a short time. Ohio State did not know about his professional status when coaches began to recruit him in early 1998.

Geiger also testified about the sanctions Ohio State imposed on itself in anticipation of NCAA sanctions. Geiger said he consulted with men’s basketball coach Thad Matta before deciding that Ohio State would ban itself from postseason play in 2005.

He said he asked Matta if he preferred a ban in 2005 or 2006, and Matta said "his preference was to do it immediately and get it behind us."

In August, Ohio State further penalized the program, taking away two of the 13 scholarships available to it this season. The Buckeyes have 10 scholarship players on the roster.

Yesterday’s NCAA hearing had been scheduled for months, and two days had been set aside for it.

The sudden suspension of it is one of many twists the case has taken. After the NCAA made its allegations in May, Ohio State was given until late July to respond in writing. Two days before the response was due, the NCAA announced that it wouldn’t be required until late August.

After OSU filed its 200-page response, as well as several thousand pages of supporting documents, the hearing date, originally set for September, then was changed to December.

[email protected]

[email protected]
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12/10/05

The postponement came after both sides in the case presented arguments. No reason was given. NCAA spokesman Kent Barrett said it had "nothing to do with the case or arguments."

The situation was complicated Wednesday by court filings in regard to O'Brien's lawsuit against Ohio State. Though that's a separate matter outside NCAA purview, subpoenas were filed for four members of the NCAA, including one of the directors of enforcement, requesting they give depositions at 4 p.m. Friday or one hour after the NCAA hearing on Ohio State finished.

Barrett declined to comment when asked if the delay was related to the subpoenas. He said the hearing probably won't be rescheduled before late January.
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Per the ozone...

OSU Athletics :
There has been a decision by the NCAA Committee on Infraction.

That decision?

Reschedule the time of the hearing. Here is the complete release by the committee:

"Earlier today, the Committee on Infractions heard motions and argument from the parties to the Ohio State case regarding procedural matters associated with the hearing. Having considered the presentation of counsel and representatives of the institution, the committee determined to continue the proceedings and reschedule the time of the hearing. The committee wishes to be very clear that the basis of the continuance has nothing to do with an assessment of the merits of the case."

Watch the-Ozone for further updates.
​
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link

12/10/05


Ex-athletic director said OSU lacked control over program
Sunday, December 11, 2005
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State’s former athletic director said in a deposition earlier this year that the school knew it had lost control over its men’s basketball program, according to a newspaper report.

Andy Geiger, who stepped down earlier this year, told lawyers for the fired coach Jim O’Brien that he believed NCAA investigators would conclude the school had lost control over the team. Geiger’s comments came in a March deposition filed Friday in O’Brien’s lawsuit against the school, The Columbus Dispatch reported Saturday.

If the NCAA determines a university lacks institutional control, it can administer the “death penalty,” barring the school from competition. That has been considered an unlikely result in the Ohio State investigation.

Geiger said Saturday that in his deposition, he was only speculating.

“I was expressing an opinion that that might happen,” he said, irritated at the suggestion that his comments amounted to more than a possibility.

A message was left Saturday at the NCAA’s offices in Indianapolis.

The university has conceded to nine NCAA violations, seven in the men’s basketball program and one each for the women’s basketball and football teams. Ohio State, however, argues that it shouldn’t be held liable for some violations because O’Brien made it impossible for athletic administrators to know about them.

The university fired O’Brien, prevented the basketball team from playing in a postseason tournament last year and said it would have 11 scholarships this season instead of the maximum 13.

On Friday, the NCAA’s Infractions Committee heard motions and arguments on procedural matters for a hearing into its allegations against the school. The committee then indefinitely postponed the hearing, which had been set to run through Saturday, saying the decision had nothing to do with the case’s merits.

Ohio State fired O’Brien in June 2004 after he admitted he arranged a $6,700 payment in 1999 to the family of a recruit, Aleksandar Radojevic. O’Brien sued Ohio State for improperly firing him, saying he didn’t violate NCAA recruiting rules because Radojevic had already been ruled ineligible to play for the Buckeyes. The case goes to trial Monday. The investigation began when a woman who claims she financially supported a former Ohio State men’s basketball player sued two boosters who she claimed agreed to pay her for taking care of the player.
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Well, one wonders if it is just press over-reaction to his deposition, or if Andy really did piss off the press so badly that they just can't wait to dump him in a bit of controversy. :(

Saying that he thought the NCAA would find that Ohio State lost control and saying that he thought Ohio State lost control are very different things.
 
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