Kansas Releases Self-Report To NCAA - Men's Basketball
July 15, 2005
Men’s Basketball Report in PDF FormatDownload Free Acrobat Reader
MEN’S BASKETBALL
SELF-REPORT OF VIOLATIONS
VIOLATION 1
With the approval of then head men’s basketball coach Roy Williams, at the completion of the 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03 men’s basketball seasons, three representatives of the University’s athletics interests (Dana Anderson, Joan Edwards and Bernard Morgan) provided gifts of cash and clothing to graduating men’s basketball student-athletes and men’s basketball student-athletes who had exhausted their eligibility, including XXX, XXX, XXX, XXX, XXX, XXX, XXX, XXX, XXX, XXX, XXX, XXX, XXX, XXX, XXX, XXX and XXX.
NCAA BYLAW 16.02
16.02.3 Extra Benefit
An extra benefit is any special arrangement by an institutional employee or a representative of the institution’s athletics interests to provide a student-athlete or the student-athlete’s relative or friend a benefit not expressly authorized by NCAA legislation. Receipt of a benefit by student-athletes or their relatives or friends is not a violation of NCAA legislation if it is demonstrated that the same benefit is generally available to the institution’s students or their relatives or friends or to a particular segment of the student body (e.g., foreign students, minority students) determined on a basis unrelated to athletics ability.
NCAA BYLAW 16.12
16.12.2.1 GENERAL RULE
The student-athlete shall not receive any extra benefit. The term “extra benefit” refers to any special arrangement by an institutional employee or representative of the institution’s athletics interests to provide the student-athlete or his or her relatives or friends with a benefit not expressly authorized by NCAA legislation.
16.12.2.3 Other Prohibited Benefits
An institutional employee or representative of the institution’s athletics interests may not provide a student-athlete with extra benefits or services . . .
OVERVIEW
As a token of appreciation for their participation on the University’s men’s basketball team, some University supporters wanted to express their appreciation to team members who were either completing their eligibility or graduating from the University by providing them with nominal gifts, including cash or clothing. When the idea first came up, University representative Dana Anderson called and asked head men’s basketball coach Roy Williams whether it would be permissible to give such a gift to the departing student-athletes. Williams reported that he checked with someone on the compliance staff and was told that it would be permissible because it would be similar to them receiving money for playing in barnstorming tours. Based on Williams’ approval, Anderson, and then Morgan and Edwards, provided gifts to several departing men’s basketball student-athletes.
CONCLUSION
The University’s investigation, and the assessment of the credibility of information provided, revealed that violations of NCAA Bylaws 16.02 and 16.12 took place with respect to this issue.
REVIEW OF THE EVIDENCE
In early May 2004, several weeks after the conclusion of the 2003-04 men’s basketball season, Director of Athletics Lew Perkins was visiting members of the men’s basketball coaching staff near their offices. After some casual conversation with some members of the staff, Perkins walked near the men’s basketball mail distribution area. The area includes mailboxes for members of the men’s basketball coaching staff and the men’s basketball student-athletes. As Perkins walked past the mail area, Joanie Stephens, secretary to head men’s basketball coach Bill Self, was placing mail into the mailboxes when some of the mail she was holding dropped. Perkins and Stephens picked up the mail and Perkins noticed that some pieces of mail were addressed to XXX, XXX and XXX in care of Bill Self. Each of the pieces of mail had a return address for Mrs. Joan Edwards, a long-time friend and supporter of the program. Perkins asked Stephens if she knew what Mrs. Edwards was sending to the student-athletes; Stephens responded that she thought Mrs. Edwards provided graduation cards and small amounts of money to the graduating men’s basketball student-athletes.
Perkins told Stephens that if Edwards was sending money to the student-athletes, it was a violation of NCAA regulations. As a precaution against XXX, XXX and XXX possibly receiving improper gifts, Perkins brought the mail to his office safe until he could hand-deliver it to the three student-athletes.
The next day Perkins informed Self of this incident. Self told Perkins that he had no knowledge of Mrs. Edwards sending graduation cards to the graduating student-athletes. Later that day Perkins saw XXX in the athletics complex and asked XXX to come to his office to collect his mail. Perkins explained to XXX why he had the mail and XXX came to Perkins’ office. In Perkins’ presence, XXX opened the letter; it was a graduation card and a $50 check made out to XXX. Perkins asked XXX if he knew Mrs. Edwards; XXX said no. Perkins again explained that if he accepted the check, it would be considered a violation of NCAA rules. XXX voluntarily gave the card and check to Perkins and said that he did not want to be involved in a violation of NCAA rules.
Perkins immediately contacted Terry Hines, the athletics compliance officer, and told him about the incident. Since there was an ongoing review of the athletics program being conducted at that time by Rick Evrard, Perkins and Hines reported the incident to Evrard.
Evrard reviewed the information over the next several weeks and then made contact with Edwards.
During the period of time that Evrard was investigating this information, Mrs. Edwards, an elderly woman, was having serious medical problems with her hearing, which required Evrard to communicate through Mrs. Edwards’ son, R.A. Edwards. R.A. Edwards explained to Evrard that according to his mother, she started to provide small gifts to the men’s basketball student-athletes after the 1988 men’s basketball season. According to Edwards, his father (Mr. Edwards) passed away in December 1987, and the University’s former head men’s basketball coach Larry Brown dedicated that year and the season in memory of his father. Mr. Edwards had been a long-time supporter of the KU men’s basketball program and had been a friend to Brown. According to R.A. Edwards, during the men’s basketball season and after his father’s death, the team wore black armbands in honor of his father. Edwards reported that his mother told him that in 1988, she sent small checks “maybe up to $100” to all of the men’s basketball student-athletes who had completed their eligibility that year, thanking them for the contribution they made to the University. Edwards indicated that his mother gave the money to the student-athletes with the specific purpose of helping them continue their education or to start on a new job if they had graduated.
According to Mrs. Edwards, she had inquired about providing the small gifts to the graduating student-athletes and had received permission to provide the gifts. According to R.A. Edwards, he asked his mother if she had asked anyone for permission, and she said “that Bob knew, Bob Frederick knew about it, Coach Williams knew about it, people in the Williams’ Fund, the basketball office, etc.” Further, R.A. Edwards reported that Mrs. Edwards wrote the checks, sent them to the basketball office and they were distributed. Further, R.A. Edwards reported that his mother told him that “she got numerous thank you notes from different players over those years, a lot of them expressing their thanks and that they would apply these checks towards their education. The checks were in the range of $25 to $50 and maybe one or two cases a hundred dollars but no more.”
Edwards reported that his mother made the decision about how much money she would send each year based on “how much she thought she could afford that year.” Edwards reported that she gave the same amount each year to each of the departing student-athletes.
After Perkins learned about Mrs. Edwards’ gifts to graduating men’s basketball student-athletes, he asked Stephens if she knew of other supporters of the program who provided similar gifts. Stephens told Perkins that she believed Dana Anderson might have done so in the past. Perkins then reported that information to Evrard. Perkins facilitated an in-person meeting with Anderson, during which Evrard interviewed him about the provision of gifts. According to Anderson, who is a long-time supporter of the University’s athletics program, he started giving small gifts to men’s basketball student-athletes some time during the last five or six years.
Anderson reported that he is a 1959 graduate of the University and began his professional career in Topeka, Kansas, after graduating from the University. Anderson reported he has been a supporter of the athletics program since his graduation. According to Anderson, some time during the past several years, he had a conversation with then head men’s basketball coach Roy Williams, asking Williams if it was permissible for him to provide a gift to graduating men’s basketball student-athletes. Anderson reported that Williams told him he would check on it and get back to him. Anderson said that some time later, Williams told Anderson that it would be permissible to provide small gifts to any of the graduating men’s basketball student-athletes.
Anderson reported that it was his understanding from coach Williams that so long as the student-athletes had exhausted their eligibility, a small gift would be permissible. Also, Anderson reported that when Perkins notified him of the potential problem, Anderson searched his files to see if he could find copies of the letters and checks that he had sent to those student-athletes who had exhausted their eligibility. Anderson reported that he provided approximately $300 to each of the student-athletes during the 2001-02 academic year and $400 to each of the student-athletes for the 2002-03 and 2003-04 academic years. Anderson indicated that he provided the gifts to the student-athletes only after he had received approval from Williams, and only for the purpose of helping the student-athletes during their first months in “the real world.”
As this self-report was being prepared, another supporter of the men’s basketball program, Bernard Morgan, called Terry Hines, the University’s associate director of athletics for compliance, and asked if he could send gifts to the 2004-05 senior men’s basketball student-athletes who had completed their eligibility or were going to graduate. Hines reported this information to Evrard, and Evrard interviewed Morgan several days later.
Morgan reported that approximately eight years ago, he contacted then head men’s basketball coach Roy Williams to ask him whether he could provide gifts to graduating seniors or those student-athletes who had exhausted their eligibility. According to Morgan, Williams told him to contact the KU compliance officer to ask that question. Morgan reported that he called the compliance office and spoke to a woman he assumed was the director of compliance, but whose name he could not recall. Morgan reported that he asked the woman whether he could provide benefits to men’s basketball student-athletes who had either graduated from the University or had exhausted eligibility that year. Morgan reported that he was told by the director of compliance (At that time, the director of compliance was Janelle Martin; however, Morgan did not recall that name even after being presented with it.) that no benefits could be provided to student-athletes while they were still enrolled in school and receiving institutional athletically related financial aid. Morgan reported that the compliance director also told him that he “can’t do anything now” but when they finish their eligibility, and their last scholarship check from the University had cleared, they could be provided with gifts from representatives of the institution’s athletics interests.
According to Morgan, during that first year, he provided a gift to XXX, XXX and XXX. Morgan reported that after the student-athletes had received their last financial aid check and after the last day of classes (stipulations that Morgan said the compliance director put on him), Morgan purchased for each of them a lifetime membership in the University’s alumni association. Morgan could not recall the cost of the membership. (Currently, a lifetime membership costs $100.) Morgan also reported that he purchased for XXX a suit of clothes from Peter’s Clothier’s in Kansas City. Morgan reported that he could not recall the cost of the suit but estimated its value at approximately $400.
Morgan reported that he wanted to assist some of the graduating men’s basketball student-athletes this year, so he called Hines to find out when he could provide a gift to them. After explaining NCAA regulations concerning the provision of benefits to student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility, Morgan agreed that he would not do anything to jeopardize the University and would not provide any benefits to any of the student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility.
Neither former compliance director Janelle Martin nor the former associate director of athletics for compliance Richard Konzem recalled ever having a conversation with Williams about the permissibility of a student-athlete who has exhausted his eligibility receiving gifts from a supporter of the program. According to Konzem, he believes that if asked that question now, he does not believe it is permissible, so his instinct tells him that he would have said no to the question if asked several years ago. Martin reported that she knows that you cannot provide benefits to student-athletes after the completion of their eligibility so if asked she would not say anything different. Both Martin and Konzem reported that at the very least, if asked about this issue, they would have called the NCAA membership services office or the Conference compliance person to learn if that arrangement would be permissible.
Former director of athletics Bob Frederick reported that he has no knowledge of either Anderson or Edwards providing gifts to men’s basketball student-athletes as “graduation gifts.” According to Frederick, Edwards came to him early in his tenure as the director of athletics at the University to ask if she could set up a scholarship fund for men’s basketball student-athletes who had an interest in going on to graduate school. According to Frederick, Edwards asked if she could set up the scholarship but wanted to limit it to men’s basketball student-athletes. According to Frederick, Edwards’ son, R.A. Edwards, came and talked to him about the possibility of setting up such a scholarship at the request of his mother. According to Frederick, he told both Mrs. Edwards and R.A. Edwards that they could not do this because it would be a violation of NCAA legislation.
Roy Williams reported that during his 15 years at the University, he is certain that “there were at least two occasions when I was asked by an alum if they could send a gift to one of the youngsters who have graduated in appreciation for what they’ve done.” Williams reported that his response to those requests were, “I don’t want this to be any humongous check or anything like that if it’s truly just a gift for graduation; every graduating senior gets graduation gifts.” Williams indicated that he did not see anything wrong with that because their eligibility was already completed.
According to Williams, because he was not asked often by supporters of the program if they could provide these gifts, he “didn’t feel like there was any… ground swell of, uh, a movement. I didn’t feel that there was any campaign to try to get together and give our graduating seniors any gifts.
Williams stated that, “I honestly think that on both occasions, I ran it by the people at KU and said `alright now after the kids graduate is there anything that they have to continue to be aware of.'” Williams believed that there was a basis to allow this kind of gift. Williams reported that, “I remembered that in the ACC when I was an assistant in the ACC we had to take our player off scholarship after our seasons were over with because they were going to do the barnstorming thing, where kids will go out and play in you know, the small towns throughout the state and be paid for you know, the admissions. They’d split the gate with the…the local booster club for the high school”… Williams indicated that he thought that senior players would play conference all-star games against another conference’s all-star team and the players would get some money for that competition.
Williams reported that, “I can’t tell you that I checked with Richard Konzem. I can’t tell you that I checked with Janelle Martin or Bob Frederick. But I know that I had some conversation just to make sure that it was alright. And again, I emphasize to the person (providing the gift) that you know, that I don’t want this to be any humongous check for playing basketball…it is a graduation gift and it is something that doesn’t, uh, you know, that, uh, that’s not advertised. It’s not talked about. It’s not promised.”
Williams reported that he has a great deal of respect for the University and that while he was there, he ran his program with integrity. Williams reported that “We never gave anybody anything above room, board, books and tuition. I never wanted them to feel like they were going to get anything later above room, board, books and tuition. So, to me, it was it was on I think again on two occasions in my 15 years that I was asked that question and I think that that was the only time that those things were done.”
