NCAA's independent resolution process accepts Arizona's infractions case

The NCAA announced Thursday that Arizona's infractions case has officially been accepted into the Independent Accountability Review Process.

While the IARP will allow UA's case to bypass the NCAA's standard resolution process, which involves back-and-forth responses between the school and infractions committee, there is no specified timeline for the IARP process. The IARP route ultimately concludes when a panel of attorneys, school officials and sports executives outside of the NCAA hold a hearing and issue a non-appealable decision.

Once a case is accepted into the IARP, its Complex Case Unit essentially takes over the NCAA enforcement staff's work and can add, modify or throw out any of the work already done.

The CCU’s only time guideline is a rough “case management plan” that is agreed on at the outset that could ensure the outside investigators and attorneys keep some priority on the casework.

Once the CCU is done, the case moves to the IARP Independent Resolution Panel and a hearing is set. The resolution panel is made up of 15 people with legal, higher education and/or sports backgrounds, with five of them assigned to any one case.

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Since there were four confirmed cases already in the IARP this fall, that suggests each five-member group is already handling at least one case — and that Arizona’s case could face another delay.

Arizona confirmed in October it received the NCAA's notice of allegations, signaling the end of the NCAA's investigation, but refused to release it, even after repeated public records requests.

According to The Athletic, the NOA included five Level 1 (most serious) charges, including a lack of control charge against basketball coach Sean Miller, plus Level I lack of institutional control and failure to monitor charges against the university. The Athletic also said UA swim coach Augie Busch was also charged with a Level 1 violation, though he has denied it, and the reported fifth Level 1 charge has not been detailed.

Paul Kelly, a Boston-based outside attorney Arizona hired to oversee its NCAA issues, did not respond to a request for comment from the Star. But The Athletic reported that Kelly asked for a referral to the IARP by stating that Arizona wanted “a neutral and unbiased tribunal to hear the evidence, consider the legal and factual arguments, and issue a decision that is fair and just.”

Arizona has not returned any records for the Star's public records request in October for any communication between Kelly and UA involving the NCAA issue.