The NCAA may be close to issuing a Notice of Allegations to the Southern Methodist University (SMU) men's basketball team.
Citing unnamed source, Yahoo Sports reported SMU officials appeared before the NCAA's Committee on Infractions for "serious allegations" against the men's basketball and golf teams. For the latter, Yahoo Sports noted head coach Larry Brown will be charged with a "lack of coach control."
The hearing apparently took place in late June over two days; the first for the SMU golf team and the second for the men's basketball team.
"I'm going to let the process take its course and move forward," Brown told ESPN, stating he could not comment any further.
Among the allegations Yahoo Sports learned the NCAA is ready to charge SMU with was academic misconduct for a player receiving impermissible help with coursework. Ulric Maligi, a secretary for the team, allegedly helped Keith Frazier, a junior, and the NCAA believes Brown knew and neither said nor did anything.
Maligi is on indefinite leave from the team since Jan., and there is no indication of when he will return. Around the same time, SMU ruled Frazier "academically ineligible," a possible indication the school tried to handle the matter secretively.
As ESPN pointed out, schools can sometimes face lighter punishment relative to the allegations if they self-report them and administer their own punishment before the NCAA finds out in another manner. The NCAA introduced their "failure to monitor" charge three years ago in order to hold head coaches accountable for the actions of his or her subordinates. In SMU's case, the NCAA may believe the school did less than the minimum without formally reporting the matter either.
"They've been saying that you've got to show us that you've done more than just have your compliance officer come down and speak with the team," an unnamed source told ESPN.
