No. 1 seed Kansas plays No. 8 North Carolina in Monday night’s men’s national championship game with a cloud hanging over coach Bill Self and the Jayhawks program.
The NCAA hit Kansas with five Level I violations in September of 2019, which included charges of lack of institutional control and head coach responsibility.
While it’s been two-and-a-half years since the violations were levied against Self and the program, discipline has yet to be levied by the NCAA.
College basketball analyst Dick Vitale criticized the NCAA for its lack of action and recommended that recently-retired Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski become the first-ever college basketball commissioner.
While appointing a college basketball commissioner seems like a rational idea, the NCAA is not currently set up in a fashion where that could turn into a reality.
If there was ever a commissioner of college basketball, it would be hard to argue with the appointment of someone like Coach K, who has nearly five decades of college basketball coaching experience.
As for Kansas, Self was asked last week about the violations and when he expected the program to face discipline. Like everyone else, Self is in wait-and-see mode, but told reporters that he believes “the end is soon.”
The NCAA alleges that the Kansas program committed “egregious” rules violations and that the coaching staff “embraced, welcomed and encouraged” Adidas representatives to cheat on the recruiting trail to help push to prospects to Lawrence.
While the final verdict remains to be seen, the Jayhawks program could face scholarship reductions, a postseason ban and more.
