Former UA coach Sean Miller will not receive a suspension as a result of the Independent Accountability Resolution Process ruling regarding Arizona's long-awaited ruling expected today, according to multiple national reports.
The Independent Accountability Resolution Process is expected to hand Arizona its final ruling later Wednesday, concluding more than five years of review and allegations regarding the program run then by Miller.
Miller, who was fired by Arizona in April 2021 and is now the head coach at Xavier, had faced a Level I (most serious) charge of lack of head coach responsibility while UA faced four other Level I charges.
UA made a strategic decision in October 2020 to request that its infractions case move off the standard NCAA resolution track and into the IARP, after the NCAAβs initial letter of allegations indicated the case would be considered at βLevel I aggravated,β which can result in a postseason ban of up to five seasons.
Arizona self-imposed a one-year postseason ban during the pandemic-altered 2020-21 season, but is not expected to have to sit out any future postseasons. The IARP is expected to limit the Wildcats in recruiting, however, with potential losses of scholarships and restrictions on the amount of recruiting coaches can do.
The Wildcats had initially faced five Level I (most serious) charges, some stemming from the federal investigation into college basketball that became public in September 2017.
Arizona faced one Level I charge for academic misconduct by former assistant coaches Book Richardson and Mark Phelps, plus one for Richardson taking $20,000 in bribes from an agent in exchange for steering Wildcat players to the agent for professional representation, a charge Richardson admitted to during federal proceedings.
UA also faced a Level I charge for Phelpsβ alleged efforts to cover up a $500 loan he gave a player, along with Level I charges for Millerβs failure to monitor and for UAβs lack of control as an institution.
Arizona was also facing four secondary violations including a Level II charge against Phelps for loaning a player $500, a Level III against Phelps for asking a current player to impermissibly help recruit, a Level II against swimming for preferential treatment and impermissible tryouts and a Level II against swim coach Augie Busch for lack of head coaching responsibility.
The IARP, a semi-independent group of attorneys and investigators that was created in the wake of the FBIβs investigation into college basketball to handle complex NCAA infractions cases, had set precedents that it would not penalize current players of a program on the court.
Now disbanded but still finishing up unresolved cases, the IARP had previously finished three of the six cases it accepted and did not issue a postseason ban to any of them. However, Kansas and LSU still have IARP cases that remain pending and both are facing multiple Level I charges: LSU has seven while Kansas has five.
In November, the IARP handed Louisville a two-year probation and several other minor penalties. The IARPβs hearing panel ultimately did not discipline former Louisville coach Rick Pitino nor place an NCAA Tournament ban on the Cardinals, after the school faced six NCAA allegations, including a Level 1 (most serious) charge involving the recruitment of Brian Bowen.
Instead, Louisville was handed a $5,000 fine, recruiting restrictions and a two-year probation. Earlier, the IARP issued a one year probation and a scholarship loss to N.C. State in December 2021 while in September it levied a three-year probation but no ban for Memphis.
However, Arizona and Louisville were different cases. Louisville faced only one Level I (most serious) charge while UA faced five β and one of the charges that faced Arizona involved alleged academic misconduct, an allegation that could still lead to penalty under newer rules allowing players to be paid for their name, images and likeness.
And while former Louisville coach Rick Pitino was not charged, he faced only a Level II charge for a failure to monitor, while Miller faced a Level I charge for a failure to monitor.
Under second-year coach Tommy Lloyd, the Wildcats have been bracing for scholarship losses and other recruiting restrictions in the years ahead because of an NCAA infractions case stemming from allegations during Millerβs stint with the Wildcats.
But UA had been hoping to avoid a postseason ban on top of the one it self-imposed for the 2020-21 season, after which the school fired Miller and replaced him with Lloyd. As with Louisville, which fired Pitino and athletic director Tom Jurich, Arizona has changed its basketball staffing significantly since its infractions case began; and the only coaching staff member who has remained is associate head coach Jack Murphy, who has longtime ties to the school and former UA coach Lute Olson.
Still, Stu Brown, an Atlanta-based attorney who works with schools on NCAA infractions cases, told the Star in March 2021 that the NCAAβs original NOA βclearly positioned the case as Level I aggravated for the universityβ based on the five Level I charges and aggravating factors that include president Robert Robbins and athletic Dave Heeke having βcompromised the integrity of the investigation.β
UAβs case began with charges carried over from the federal investigation into college basketball. After the federal proceedings were finished in 2019 β resulting in Richardson serving a three-month stint in federal prison β the NCAA incorporated the federal findings into its own investigation.
In October 2020, the NCAA sent Arizona a Notice of Allegations in October 2020, signaling the NCAA had finished its investigation, and the school than requested the case be moved to the IARP.
The IARP formally accepted UAβs case in December 2020 but took two years to settle it. Arizonaβs case added to criticism of the IARPβs slow pace, which led to its cancellation in August. The IARP is settling its remaining cases, however, with only Kansas and LSU left to finish.
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Tracking IARP cases
Start date / School / Level I Charges / Ruling
March 2020 Memphis / Four / $5,000 fine, three years probation, two wins vacated
April 2020 / N.C. State / Two / $5,000 fine, one year probation, loss of scholarship for one season, recruiting restrictions
July 2020 / Kansas / Five / Still pending
September 2020 / LSU / Seven / Still pending
December 2020 / Arizona / Five / To be announced
February 2021 / Louisville / One / $5,000 fine, two-year probation, recruiting penalties
Arizona could vacate as many as 50 wins, including two Pac-12 titles, and Sean Miller's win count may go down to 252 if NCAA's allegations against the program are found to be true by the IARP. Miller is in the final year of his contract with Arizona.
