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We still don’t know how much longer Arizona will have to wait before finding out its punishment for alleged NCAA violations. But it appears that the Wildcats’ wait will be a little less long based on a recent update provided by the Independent Accountability Resolution Process committee.
On Oct. 4 the IARP’s Complex Case Unit issued an “amended notice of allegations” in the case against Arizona, which was first referred to the IARP in December. No details are available related to changes to the original NOA, which was issued in October 2020 by the NCAA and released by the school—as a result of a lawsuit filed by ESPN—in March.
Arizona is accused of five Level I violations, considered the most serious type, most of them stemming from actions by former men’s basketball assistant coaches Book Richardson and Mark Phelps.
Former head coach Sean Miller was also accused of an inability to promote compliance within the program, while the men’s basketball and swimming programs were both hit with lack of institutional control charges.
The UA self-imposed a postseason ban for the 2020-21 season in hopes of having that serve as adequate punishment for its alleged infractions. By having the IARP handle the case, however, any further penalties handed down cannot be appealed.
New men’s basketball coach Tommy Lloyd has intimated on several occasions since his hire in April that he expects Arizona to be hit with some additional penalties, whether that be a loss of scholarships or more. His contract, which was approved by the Arizona Board of Regents in June, calls for him to get a sixth (and possibly seventh) year added to his deal if the UA is hit with a postseason ban, loss of scholarships and restrictions on recruiting days.
Arizona’s is one of six cases stemming from an 2017 FBI bribery investigation to be referred to the IARP, and none have been completed.
“I think it’s moving down the path,” Lloyd said at Arizona’s Media Day last month. “I think next year at this time we’ll know. I know it’s easy to make fun of how long the process of taking or whatever but hey, a lot of people are in similar boat as we are. We don’t sit around and use it as an excuse on a daily basis. We’re just gonna keep working, and whatever happens, we’re going to deal with it and make the best of it.”