http://www.dispatch.com/bball/bball....311-C3-04.html
NCAA will interview Biancardi next week
Friday, March 11, 2005
The NCAA plans to interview Wright State men’s basketball coach Paul Biancardi on Tuesday regarding the scandal at Ohio State that led to the firing of coach Jim O’Brien.
The NCAA would not confirm or deny the report. A message left with Biancardi was not returned.
But a source close to the investigation said NCAA representatives will talk with Biancardi on Tuesday, having waited until the end of the regular season to question him about alleged NCAA violations.
Biancardi is in his second season at Wright State. He was an assistant at
OSU for seven years.
During his time at Ohio State, he’s accused of breaking a number of NCAA rules involving former player Slobodan "Boban" Savovic. He allegedly set up illegal living arrangements for Savovic in July 1998 and later worked to have the player’s failing grades changed.
The accusations surfaced in a civil lawsuit filed in Franklin County last year by Kathleen Salyers, who is suing Dan and Kim Roslovic for money she says they promised to pay her to care for Savovic.
Salyers has said Biancardi knew about the many items she purchased for Savovic, a Serb who lived with her family during some of his time at Ohio State.
A revelation in the lawsuit that O’Brien gave $6,000 to Aleksandar Radojevic, a recruit who later was ruled ineligible by the NCAA, led to O’Brien’s firing in June.
Biancardi has denied all allegations against him in two public statements.
— Kathy Gray
kgray@dispatch.com