The NCAA on Wednesday announced that an appeals committee upheld findings from the NCAA's Committee on Infractions that determined former UConn men's basketball coach Kevin Ollie violated head coach responsibility and ethical conduct rules during his time as Huskies coach. The committee's determination requires Ollie must serve the three-year show-cause order prescribed to him last summer.
"The NCAA Division I Infractions Appeals Committee upheld findings that a former head UConn men's basketball coach violated head coach responsibility and ethical conduct rules," the NCAA announced in a release. "The committee also upheld a penalty that requires the former head coach to serve a three-year show-cause order, according to the decision."
In the COI's findings handed down last year, the panel initially determined that Ollie did not properly monitor his staff nor did he promote an atmosphere of compliance. The panel found violations including excessive activity limits allowable by the NCAA and a booster providing extra benefits to student-athletes. Ollie was hit hardest of those involved, as evidenced by the show-cause order. UConn's basketball program, by contrast, got off fairly easy with minor recruiting and scholarship restrictions and a two-year probation.
Ollie's appeal centered around an argument that the findings should be set aside because "they were contrary to the information presented to the Committee on Infractions panel, and that the show-cause order should be vacated," per the NCAA. Ollie specifically claimed there were inconsistencies in the information the NCAA gathered during interviews and challenged the credibility of those who provided the panel information.
The ethical conduct violation in part stems from a refusal on Ollie's behalf to participate in a second interview with the NCAA enforcement staff related to the case. Ollie gave one interview to the infractions committee but refused the second based on the advice of his counsel.
Ollie served as the UConn head coach from 2012-18 before his ouster. He won the NCAA championship with the Huskies in 2014 and the AAC Tournament title in 2016.
