DePaul coach Dave Leitao and his program are in hot water with the NCAA.
The DePaul men’s basketball program was put on probation for three years for recruiting activity outside NCAA rules, and Leitao was handed a suspension for the first three games of the 2019-20 season for failing to promote “an atmosphere of compliance,” according to a decision released by the NCAA Tuesday.
A former associate head coach arranged for the assistant director of basketball operations to live with a recruit — who had graduated high school but didn’t meet NCAA eligibility requirements yet — in order to ensure the recruit completed the necessary coursework, according to the release.
The prospective player eventually met requirements and enrolled at DePaul.
“Because the arrangement was an impermissible recruiting benefit, the committee said the student-athlete competed while ineligible,” the release stated. “The arrangement also involved impermissible recruiting contact, which caused the men’s basketball program to exceed the number of allowable coaches.”
Three men’s basketball staff members were aware of this arrangement, but didn’t report the violation, according to the NCAA. The director of basketball operations told the NCAA he knew the contact was a recruiting violation but he didn’t report it in fear of being “disloyal, cause tension, get in the way of the associate head coach or otherwise hurt his career.” He also did not know how to report violations, according to the release.
The NCAA said Leitao, who in his second coaching stint with DePaul 48-82 over the last four seasons, was punished for failing to monitor his staff and ensure his program was compliant.
Here’s a breakdown of the sanctions from DePaul (via the release):
- Three years of probation.
- Suspension of the head coach from the first three regular-season games of the 2019-20 season.
- A three-year show-cause order for the former associate head coach. During that period, any NCAA member school employing him must restrict him from any athletically related duties unless it shows cause why the restrictions should not apply.
- A vacation of records in which the men’s basketball student-athlete competed while ineligible. The university must provide a written report containing the contests impacted to the NCAA media coordination and statistics staff within 45 days of the public decision release.
- Recruiting restrictions, including: a reduction of six men’s basketball recruiting-person days during the 2017-18 academic year (self-imposed by the university); and a reduction of six men’s basketball recruiting-person days in April 2019 (self-imposed by the university).
- A $5,000 fine, plus 1% of the men’s basketball program budget.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
