Kansas’ Bill Self Held Off Recruiting Trail As NCAA Probe Continues, per Report

The school is still awaiting potential discipline following the FBI’s findings of bribery and corruption in 2017.

Reigning national champion Kansas held its head coach Bill Self, as well as assistant Kurtis Townsend, off the road during the June and July live recruiting period as the NCAA continues its years-long probe into the school’s basketball recruitment practices, per Matt Norlander of CBS Sports.

The self-imposed sanctions come as the NCAA continues its probe stemming from an FBI investigation into bribery and corruption in college basketball. Kansas received a notice of allegations from the NCAA in September 2019 before responding in May ’20. Since then, there has not been further public comment from the school.

The decision to hold Self and Townsend off the trail during one of the busiest annual recruiting periods is significant, as Norlander notes that it is the first signal that Kansas is willing to cooperate as part of the investigation.

Kansas is involved in the Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP), which was created following the initial findings by the FBI in 2017. The basketball program is still awaiting a hearing from the IARP, nearly five years after being implicated in the bribery and corruption scheme. 

The notice of allegations from the NCAA charged the Kansas program with lack of institutional control, five Level I violations and recommended a coaching change from Self. 

Per the report from CBS Sports, industry sources believe a significant suspension for Self and a potential postseason ban remain on the table, but it is unclear how the self-sanctioning by the school on the trail this summer will impact any potential punishment.

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