Pillsbury Team Achieves Significant Victory for KU Head Men’s Basketball Coach Bill Self in Long-Running NCAA Inquiry

On October 11, 2023, the Independent Resolution Panel (the “IRP”) assigned to the matter issued an exhaustive public report setting forth its findings and conclusions following a multi-day contested hearing.  The IRP’s report unequivocally concluded that allegations of severe NCAA rule violations purportedly committed by the University of Kansas, Mr. Self, and assistant men’s basketball coach Kurtis Townsend were without merit, and confirmed that neither the University nor any of its coaches had any knowledge or awareness of impermissible payments. These allegations, classified as “Level I,” are the most significant rule violations and, if found to have occurred, potentially carry harsh penalties, including a ban on the men’s basketball team competing in post-season tournaments, substantial reductions in the number of the scholarships the basketball program can offer, as well as lengthy suspensions and “show cause” orders that could apply to the basketball coaches.

Instead, the IRP found that only a single Level III violation—the most minor type of infraction—was found to have occurred regarding head men’s basketball coach Bill Self, in connection with his awareness of a third-party’s efforts to direct used equipment to an Angolan youth basketball team. This secondary violation afforded no additional penalties beyond those previously self-imposed by the University, which the IRP also accepted. The IRP also rejected the claim that Mr. Self violated the NCAA’s head coach responsibility legislation—Bylaw 11.1.1.1—pursuant to which the head men’s basketball coach is presumed responsible “for the actions of all institutional staff members who report, directly or indirectly, to the head coach.”

In addition to finding that all allegations of significant misconduct were unsubstantiated, the IRP credited Mr. Self for his direct actions to further NCAA compliance efforts through self-detection and disclosure of potential violations. In particular, when Mr. Self became aware of potential NCAA rule violations concerning a particular student-athlete, he immediately reported the information to the University and withheld the student-athlete from competition.  Mr. Self’s actions allowed the University to promptly launch a thorough internal investigation that detected rules violations of which the University, Mr. Self, and Mr. Townsend had no knowledge, and to self-report those violations to the NCAA.

The IRP’s voluminous report brings to a close this more than five-year representation on behalf of the University of Kansas and Mr. Self. In late 2017, the United States Department of Justice indicted a number of individuals on conspiracy and fraud charges in connection with payments made to the families of men’s basketball prospective student-athletes. The University of Kansas, represented by Pillsbury, was found to be the victim of fraudulent actions taken by certain criminal defendants, and substantial, uncontradicted testimony given under oath at trial, including from a University compliance officer, established that neither the University nor any of its coaches had any involvement in or awareness of the payments made by the criminal defendants. At the conclusion of the criminal proceedings, the NCAA’s enforcement staff made allegations of significant misconduct against the University of Kansas, Mr. Self, and Mr. Townsend, which included multiple Level I allegations against Mr. Self. In 2021, the matter was transferred to the newly created Independent Accountability Resolution Process, designed to review particularly complex and weighty NCAA Division I infractions cases, and assigned to the IRP.  The protracted proceeding culminated in a multi-day hearing before the IRP, the rejection of all Level I allegations, and, in regards to Mr. Self, the finding of only a single Level III violation.

The Pillsbury team that guided this years-long representation to an unequivocal success consisted of Corporate Investigations & White Collar Defense chair William M. Sullivan, Jr. and counsel Alex G. Anderson. Sullivan and Anderson worked closely with co-counsel Scott Tompsett, Esq. of Tompsett Collegiate Sports Law in the representation of head men’s basketball coach Bill E. Self throughout the NCAA enforcement proceedings.