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Gene Smith
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Smith, Holbrook Address NCAA Allegations
By Bucknuts.com Staff
Date: May 16, 2005
OSU President Karen Holbrook and athletic director Gene Smith met with the media this afternoon to address nine allegations made by the NCAA against the football and men's and women's basketball programs.
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Ohio State held a press conference this afternoon to share details on the notice of allegations it received from the NCAA on charges of violations in the football and men’s and women’s basketball programs.
“Our receipt of this report brings to a close this phase of our joint investigation that is now moving forward toward conclusion,”
OSU President Karen Holbrook said. “The actions we have taken to date are commensurate with the serious nature of these charges and with our commitment to maintain a great athletic program that fully complies with NCAA rules.”
Holbrook was joined at the news conference by newly hired
OSU athletic director Gene Smith.
OSU must now respond to the NCAA by July 26 on the nine main allegations described in the letter. The NCAA’s Committee on Infractions will then hear the case in either September or October and could hand down further sanctions against
OSU as early as November.
Although Smith is a former member of the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions, he stopped short of predicting what additional sanctions
OSU may face. The school self-imposed a postseason ban in men’s basketball this past season.
Seven of the nine allegations revealed today deal with the men’s basketball program. The football and women’s basketball program each had one allegation named.
In a nutshell, here is what the NCAA alleged in its letter to
OSU today:
* In 1998, then-men's basketball coach Jim O'Brien arranged through assistant Paul Biancardi the payment of approximately $6,700 to then-recruit Alex Radojevic;
* Kathleen Salyers had improper in person contacts and impermissibly provided recruiting inducements to Radojevic;
* An individiual who became a booster gave recruiting inducements and benefits to a former men's basketball student-athlete, including meals, cash payments and living expenses (Because of federal laws,
OSU provided a redacted copy of the NCAA’s allegations, erasing the names of key figures. However, it is believed this relates to Salyers’ benefits provided to Boban Savovic.);
* A booster provided a former men's basketball student-athlete with impermissible academic assistance (again, this may relate to Salyers’ assistance of Savovic);
* O'Brien impermissibly provided Salyers with two season tickets for four consecutive seasons;
* O'Brien and Biancardi acted contrary to the principles of ethical conduct by failing to report their involvement in the violations above;
* Both the institution and O'Brien failed to monitor the conduct and administration of the men's basketball program;
* Ronald Erkis, a Columbus orthodontist, provided impermissible cost-free or discounted services to several women's basketball players; and
* A booster provided an impermissible extra benefit to a football student athlete for $500 cash for work that was never performed (this takes in Robert Baker’s payment to Troy Smith).
The Troy Smith allegation is the only one where the NCAA found proof. Gene Smith said the NCAA investigated a number of claims made by Maurice Clarett and others.
Smith will serve the second of a two-game suspension for the 2005 season opener against Miami (Ohio). Otherwise, the football program – after months of bad publicity – seems to be free and clear.
“There was a thorough investigation by the NCAA and our staff,” Gene Smith said. “What you see before you is what you see in football.”
Regarding the basketball allegations, Gene Smith also noted the distinction of the charge “failure to monitor.” That is a step below the NCAA’s wide ranging count of “lack of institutional control,” a finding that could have led to much stiffer penalties.
“Those are two different charges,” Gene Smith said. “Lack of institutional control is the heaviest charge we can receive from the NCAA. Failure to monitor is at another level, a lesser charge than a lack of institutional control.”
This story will be updated with more comments as the day continues.
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