April 21, 2006

LAWRENCE, Kan. -

NCAA Notice of Allegations in PDF Format
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Kansas Chancellor Robert Hemenway Comments

Kansas Director of Athletics Lew Perkins Comments

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has responded to the University of Kansas' July 2005 self-report, and has issued a Notice of Allegations regarding violations of NCAA rules.  The notice included most of the violations that were identified in Kansas' 2005 self-report to the NCAA, which listed violations that occurred during a period that ended in 2003.

That self-report, which was prepared by an independent, outside agency, identified NCAA violations discovered by KU, and also listed penalties Kansas Chancellor Robert Hemenway imposed upon the athletics department after discussions with Athletics Director Lew Perkins.  The self-report also outlined corrective measures the athletics department had instituted since the summer of 2003 to help ensure compliance with NCAA rules.

Last summer the NCAA enforcement staff, consistent with its policies and procedures, informed Kansas that it would review the University's self-report and conduct follow-up interviews.  The Notice of Allegations is the result of that follow-up.  The university will respond to the Notice and will meet with the NCAA Committee on Infractions on August 13.  Subsequent to that meeting, the infractions committee will determine whether or not to impose penalties in addition to those KU imposed upon itself last summer.

"There is nothing in the NCAA's Notice that we have not already discussed internally and with the NCAA staff," Hemenway said.  "I trust the NCAA staff and I trust this process. Because we have aggressively identified our weaknesses and because we have instituted corrective measures since 2003, we are hopeful that the infractions committee will respond positively."

Hemenway and Perkins initiated the University's investigation immediately after Perkins arrived at KU in June 2003, when former interim athletics director Drue Jennings informed them of possible NCAA rules violations.  That same day Perkins contacted Rick Evrard, a former NCAA enforcement official and currently a partner with the law firm of Bond, Schoeneck & King in Overland Park, Kan., and asked him to investigate these possible violations.  Soon thereafter Hemenway and Perkins instructed Evrard to conduct a full compliance audit of the University's athletics compliance program.  The University reported all findings to the NCAA last July.

Immediately after his hiring, Perkins began to reshape the Kansas athletics department.  He restructured the staff, hired new compliance personnel and increased the number of employees in that office.

"We recognize that at times we fell short of the high standards we set for ourselves at the University of Kansas," Hemenway said.  "I am not happy about that, but we have worked with great resolve to strengthen the athletics department in the areas of compliance and rules education.  I have every confidence that what Lew has put in place will foster an atmosphere of rigorous compliance with NCAA rules.  We are unequivocally committed to every aspect of compliance, particularly with respect to academic integrity."

"Since we have worked closely with the NCAA throughout this process," Perkins said, "nothing in these pages surprises us.  Rather, it serves to reinforce our commitment to doing things the right way."

Perkins listed the corrective measures taken by Kansas Athletics in the last two-and-a-half years.  Kansas Athletics has:

• Provided additional rules education for all coaches;
• Sent an in-depth compliance guide, to be updated and distributed annually, to all representatives of KU's athletics interests, reminding them of NCAA rules and regulations;
• Restructured the academic advising office to centralize responsibility for academic support for all prospective and enrolled student-athletes;
• Hired a new Associate Athletics Director for Compliance; increased the compliance staff by two full-time positions; and budgeted for two additional full-time compliance positions in the next academic year;
• Contracted with an outside firm to perform annual athletics department-wide compliance reviews;
• Included a comprehensive compliance and monitoring program in Kansas Athletics' strategic plan.

"We are committed to winning within the spirit and the letter of NCAA rules," Perkins said.  "We will play by the rules."