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The Jayhawks are self-imposing penalties on Bill Self before they finally hear from the NCAA.
Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks are the reigning kings of men’s college basketball after winning the 2022 national championship earlier this year, but the legendary head coach won’t be on the sidelines when the new season begins.
Kansas has suspended Self for four games and placed self-imposed recruiting restrictions on the staff for the program’s 2017 NCAA scandal, according to Stadium’s Jeff Goodman. Assistant coach Kurtis Townsend also received a four-game suspension. The suspension covers Kansas’ marquee game against Duke on Nov. 15 in Indianapolis. Kansas hit already limited Self and his staff from recruiting on the road over the offseason, according to Goodman.
The program expects to receive its penalties from the NCAA for the scandal after this season.
Kansas men’s basketball is facing five Level I violations from the NCAA stemming from the sprawling FBI scandal several years back. Read Mike Rutherford on how Kansas won the national championship in the face of looming NCAA punishment from back in April.
Kansas was one of the schools busted in the 2017 FBI case that alleged bribes were paid to land top recruits. In Kansas’ case, the FBI alleged that Adidas — the Jayhawks’ biggest sponsor — made payments to recruits for their commitment. Here’s a report from 2018:
The statement alleges that $90,000 was funneled to a student at Kansas, $150,000 to a student at Miami, and $100,000 to a student at Louisville.
Here’s an explainer from 2018 on what the FBI was actually investigating.
The landscape of college sports is of course very different now after the Name, Image, and Likeness rules have gone into effect. Kansas is hoping that by self-imposing sanctions now, the eventual punishment from the NCAA will be lighter. Given the incredibly slow nature of the way the NCAA has handled this case, it’s impossible to know what exactly to expect in terms of punishment.
Kansas starts the year at No. 5 in the new AP preseason poll. The Jayhawks are going to be very good again, and Self will be back once this suspension is over.
