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NCAA penalizes Arizona basketball program

Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - The NCAA has penalized the University of Arizona for major violations involving the men's basketball program.

The NCAA said in its release that the violations, which include impermissible recruiting activities and inducements, occurred on multiple occasions over a two-year period.

Sanctions against the program include the vacation of 19 wins from the 2007-08 season, two years probation running through July 28, 2012, and a loss of one men's basketball scholarship for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 academic years.

The penalties also include a host of recruiting reductions: Arizona will lose six official visits (from a maximum of 12) for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 years, 10 recruiting-person days (from a maximum of 130) during 2009-10, 30 recruiting-person days during 2010-11, and eight recruiting-person days during the 2010 summer evaluation period.

Arizona must also have institutional recertification to ensure the school's policies conform to NCAA requirements.

The NCAA's public report said the violations centered around three basketball tournaments and one showcase game that were conducted on Arizona's campus in 2006-08.

The NCAA committee on infractions found that former head coach Lute Olson "set the violations in motion" by allowing the tournament promoter to have access to boosters for financial support. The committee's report found that Olson arranged for the promoter to speak directly to Rebounders, the men's basketball booster club for the university. The report said Rebounders provided nearly $200,000 to the promoter as funding for the events, which was beneficial to recruiting.

Because Olson was involved, funding the prospective student-athletes received became impermissible. Two players, who received these impermissible benefits during the 2006 Cactus Classic, were thus ineligible during the 2007-08 season, when Arizona went 19-15 under Kevin O'Neill.

The committee found that Olson "failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance" within the program and failed to monitor certain activities within his program, while also finding that the school failed to monitor the administration of the events held on its campus. The report said Olson did not check whether his actions were allowed under NCAA rules.

The school will not appeal the NCAA's decision.

"We're satisfied that the process has reached a conclusion," said Arizona athletics director Greg Byrne. "We have cooperated throughout and respect the findings of the committee. Now it's time for us to move forward with a focus on maintaining the highest standards of integrity within our entire athletics program."

Olson finished his distinguished coaching career in 2006-07 with a 20-11 mark (11-7 in the Pac-10) and his team was ousted in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Olson took a leave of absence shortly before the following season and missed the entirety of 2007-08, then retired in October 2008.

Under first-year head coach Sean Miller, the Wildcats went 16-15 in 2009-10 with a 10-8 record in the Pac-10, only good enough for fourth place in the conference.


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