BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – The NCAA could level an unethical conduct charge against former St. Bonaventure coach Jan van Breda Kolff for his role in a player eligibility scandal that led to his dismissal, interim school president the Rev. Dominic Monti said Tuesday.
“They are pursuing an additional allegation of unethical conduct against Jan,” Monti said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Monti said the allegation against van Breda Kolff was made by the NCAA following its investigation. He said it was in addition to the three infractions St. Bonaventure acknowledged it committed, and will be raised at a hearing in Indianapolis on Friday.
The hearing, before the NCAA’s committee on infractions, is the final step before the college governing body will determine whether to pursue further sanctions after forward Jamil Terrell was ruled ineligible last spring for failing to meet junior college transfer guidelines.
The NCAA could rule next month.
When the team was stripped of 12 wins and barred from the postseason, players boycotted their final two games.
If the NCAA sanctions van Breda Kolff, now an assistant with the NBA’s New Orleans Hornets, he could be restricted from returning to coach at the college level for a set time. Any school considering hiring van Breda Kolff during that time would have to petition the NCAA for approval.
Van Breda Kolff’s lawyer, Lew Conner, would not confirm or deny whether his client faces a sanction of unethical conduct but said: “Any allegation of wrongdoing against Jan van Breda Kolff by anybody will be fiercely contested to the absolute fullest extent allowed by law.”
The NCAA declined comment.
Van Breda Kolff has previously denied any wrongdoing involving Terrell’s transfer, saying he was left out of the loop when Athletic Director Gothard Lane raised the issue of the player’s eligibility with school President Robert Wickenheiser.
Wickenheiser, at the request of St. Bonaventure’s trustees, resigned a week after the scandal broke, accepting full responsibility for approving Terrell’s transfer. The school’s board also sought and received Lane’s resignation about a month later, and fired van Breda Kolff.
A school investigation found no direct evidence that van Breda Kolff knew of Terrell’s ineligibility, but ruled he should have tried to determine the player’s status considering the questions raised.
The Rev. Monti compared van Breda Kolff’s defense to that of what he called, “the three little monkeys: the see no evil, hear no evil, say no evil.”
Added Monti: “And that’s precisely Jan’s response: `I didn’t know anything. I didn’t say anything. I didn’t do anything. I didn’t hear anything.'”
Monti said he was encouraged heading into Friday’s hearing, hoping the NCAA weighs the actions St. Bonaventure has taken since the scandal occurred. Besides noting the departures of Wickenheiser, Lane and van Breda Kolff, Monti added that the school fully cooperated with the investigation.
“This is kind of the last thing hanging out there, the last uncertainty,” Monti said, referring to the NCAA’s final ruling. “You know you have to go through it. And the only thing that would kind of reopen it again is if they issued a judgment of penalties that we didn’t anticipate.”
In its submission, St. Bonaventure is seeking several self-imposed sanctions, including a reduction in both scholarships and recruiting visits.
Monti added that the school could select its new athletic director as early as next week after the last of four final candidates has been interviewed.
