A little more than two months after the University of Texas parted ways with head men's basketball coach Rick Barnes, an exhaustive report has emerged detailing academic misconduct running rampant among his players throughout his tenure.
Barnes coached at Texas from 1998 to last season and went 402-180 with the Longhorns, though one Final Four appearance was as deep as he ever got in the NCAA Tournament.
Barnes, who took the same job at the University of Tennessee in late March, is now implicated in an investigative piece from the Chronicle of Higher Education that suggests he fostered an environment of academic misconduct.
Brad Wolverton opens his article with an anecdote describing a remedial math instructor at Texas' Austin campus catching a former Longhorn basketball player cheating on a test. The teacher, Pamela Powell, consulted a number of athletic department personnel about how to handle the situation.
Ultimately the student, Martez Walker, faced no punishment, passed the class and was named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll for that semester, fall 2013. The allegations include several similar examples taking place during Barnes' long tenure at Texas.
A spokesperson told the Chronicle on Barnes' behalf that the coach had no knowledge of such activity going on when he was at Texas. The school also denied Barnes' firing was related to the academic misconduct allegations.
Texas opened an investigation in Jan. due to a previous investigative piece from the Chronicle detailing student-athletes taking false online courses to remain eligible in their respective courses. The school will reported widen their probe to include the new allegations.
In light of the "paper class" scandal at the University of North Carolina, the NCAA is taking academic misconduct as seriously as ever. A similar case at Texas, collegiate sports' governing body could soon open its own investigation, which could result in massive sanctions.
