Baylor’s men’s and women’s basketball programs are facing possible NCAA sanctions after an investigation uncovered more than 1,200 impermissible phone calls and text messages over a 29-month span.
Baylor Men’s And Women’s Basketball Programs Facing Potential NCAA Sanctions
On the heels of the most successful seasons in school history for each, both Baylor’s men’s and women’s basketball programs may now be facing NCAA violations.
Men’s coach Scott Drew, women’s coach Kim Mulkey and their assistants were involved in the impermissible phone calls and texts, according to Jason King of ESPN.com.
The men’s team is coming off of the most successful season in program history, which included an appearance in the Big 12 championship game and a loss in the Elite Eight to eventual national champion Kentucky. The women’s team, led by star Brittney Griner, just capped off a 40-0 season by beating Notre Dame to win the national title.
A 66-page report from the NCAA documented a handful of secondary violations against a number of the school’s programs, but it focused mainly on the phone calls and texts by the two basketball programs. The NCAA enforcement staff labeled the impermissible calls and texts as “major violations,” because of the frequency with which they occurred.
Combined, the two programs sent 738 impermissible text messages and made 528 impermissible calls over that span of 29 months.
Baylor is already dealing with self-imposed as a result of previous findings by the NCAA during their probe, which began in 2008 after questions arose surrounding Griner’s recruitment. The NCAA may now tack on additional penalties, including a further reduction of scholarships or the suspension of Drew or Mulkey for a period of time.
In a similar case from 2007, Kelvin Sampson was found to have made more than 550 illegal phone calls during his time at Oklahoma and was barred from making phone calls to recruits or making off-campus visits for one year. He was fired by Indiana in 2008 after similar violations arose there.
These findings come smack in the middle of what is unquestionably the greatest period in the history of Baylor athletics. The men’s and women’s basketball team each just set school records for wins, while the football team - led by Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III - went 10-3 and won the Alamo Bowl. The 80 combines wins between the three programs is the most in NCAA history.
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