Baylor University basketball scandal
Encyclopedia
The Baylor University basketball scandal was an incident in which the Baylor University
men's basketball
program was investigated and punished for numerous NCAA violations. The scandal broke out after the 2003 murder of men's basketball player Patrick Dennehy
. His teammate, Carlton Dotson
was convicted of the murder and sentenced to a 35-year prison term.
Shortly after Dennehy's disappearance, the school and the NCAA began investigations into multiple allegations, ranging from drug use among players to improper payments to players by the coaching staff. Baylor self-imposed punishments, which the NCAA augmented to include extended probation for the school through 2010, the elimination of one year of non-conference play, and a 10-year show-cause penalty on resigned head coach Dave Bliss
. The sanctions so crippled the Bears that they didn't have another winning season until 2008. It is one of the harshest penalties ever imposed on a Division I
program that didn't include a death penalty.
was a junior forward who transferred to Baylor University from the University of New Mexico
following his sophomore season in 2001–2002. After redshirting
the 2002-2003 season (to comply with the NCAA's Division I transfer policy), he was preparing to play for the Baylor Bears
in the upcoming 2003-2004 season. Dennehy's friend and former teammate at Baylor, Carlton Dotson
, had played one season on the Baylor basketball team after transferring from Paris Junior College
in Paris, Texas
, in the summer of 2002, where he played two seasons.
In the summer of 2003, Dennehy and Dotson indicated that they were concerned about their safety. They had purchased two pistol
s and a rifle
and practiced firing them at a farm north of Waco, Texas
. On June 14, Dennehy told friend Daniel Okopnyi that he was worried about threats made to Dotson by two fellow teammates, one of whom was allegedly junior transfer Harvey Thomas. Dennehy also indicated that he and Dotson would be at a party the following day at which neither appeared.
Over the next few days, there were indications that something had gone wrong: Dennehy's mother and then-stepfather, Valorie and Brian Brabazon, were concerned that they had received no calls on Father's Day
. Dennehy's roommate, Chris Turk, returned from an out-of-town trip to find that Dennehy's dogs had not been fed in days. On June 19, the Brabazons filed a report with the Waco Police Department that Dennehy was missing.
On June 25, Dennehy's Chevrolet Tahoe
SUV was found in the parking lot of a strip mall on Shore Drive in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with its license plates removed.
An affidavit filed on June 23, which was unsealed on June 30, seeking a search warrant
for Dennehy's computer says that an informant in Delaware
told police that Dotson, who was by now at home in Hurlock, Maryland
, told a cousin that he had shot and killed Dennehy during an argument while firing guns in the Waco area. On July 21, Dotson was charged with the murder of Patrick Dennehy and taken into custody in Maryland
.
The search for Dennehy continued for several weeks until July 25, when a badly-decomposed body was found in a gravel pit near Waco. The body was taken to Dallas for an autopsy and the following day medical examiners identified the body as being Patrick Dennehy. On July 30, his death was ruled a homicide after a preliminary autopsy report showed that Dennehy died of gunshot wounds to the head. Dennehy was buried in San Jose, California
, on August 7.
On October 28, 2004, Dotson was declared incompetent to stand trial by District Judge George Allen and was sent to a state mental hospital
to be reevaluated in four months' time. Three psychiatrist
s, including one appointed by the court, said that Dotson appeared to be suffering from hallucination
s and psychosis
, but that should he regain competency in the future, he would be made to stand trial.
On June 8, 2005, five days before his trial for murder was to begin, Carlton Dotson unexpectedly pleaded guilty to killing Patrick Dennehy. On June 15, Dotson was sentenced to 35 years in prison. He will be eligible for parole
after he has served about half of his sentence.
. Allegations of impropriety within the athletic department surfaced and Baylor University President Robert B. Sloan
appointed an investigative panel to determine if there were any potential NCAA violations at the school.
Having reached the limits on team scholarships, Bliss surreptitiously paid Dennehy's tuition
and that of teammate Corey Herring. Herring and his family had no knowledge of this: Herring was under the impression that he was on scholarship. During the investigations, Coach Bliss publicly portrayed Dennehy as a drug dealer to explain how Dennehy had paid his tuition, but was soon under investigation by the university and the NCAA. Additionally, in the weeks preceding his resignation, Bliss flew to New York
—without the knowledge of anyone, including his wife—in an attempt to convince Herring's mother to lie about paying the $18,641. Later, Bliss pretended to be Herring's father—in an attempt to determine what evidence school and NCAA investigators might find against him—when he called Baylor's financial aid office to check on payments made to Herring's account.
and alcohol
among players that was subsequently ignored by head coach Dave Bliss
and his staff.
Sonya Hart revealed that she had raised concerns about the drug use with associate athletic director Paul Bradshaw, but that no one ever got back in contact with her.
that members of the coaching staff were present during a pickup game involving Harvey Thomas during his official visit to Baylor. One of the two players said that Bliss and assistant coach Rodney Belcher were both present during the game.
NCAA rules state that staff observation of a recruit's athletic activities, directly or indirectly, during their official visit to their university constitute an "illegal tryout."
from 1980 to 1988. At the time, both schools were members of the Southwest Conference.
On August 2, an NCAA memo obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
detailed major rules violations, including booster payments of US$2,000 to $5,000 to center Jon Koncak
during his junior and senior years. Both Bliss and SMU received no NCAA penalties for the infractions because the university had already received the "Death Penalty" for massive violations in their football program
in February 1987 and the decision was made not to further punish the SMU athletic department. Shortly after the investigation, Bliss left SMU to take a position at the University of New Mexico in 1988, before joining the Baylor program in 1999.
However, on the day after Dennehy's memorial service, Bliss met with school investigators. They told him that according to Dennehy's girlfriend, Bliss had paid for the portion of Dennehy's tuition not covered by financial aid. He'd also done the same for another player, Corey Herring. Both payments violated NCAA rules. Bliss confessed to making the payments, which totaled $7,000. This, combined with the violations of Baylor's drug test policy, and Bliss' presence at Thomas' official visit to Baylor, led President Sloan to force Bliss' resignation on August 8, 2003. Athletic director Tom Stanton resigned on the same day. Although there was no evidence that Stanton knew of the violations, he resigned to take responsibility for what happened.
On the same day Bliss resigned, the school's investigative committee announced their preliminary results and imposed preliminary sanctions on the basketball program. Initial sanctions imposed by the school included two years' probation and no postseason play for the 2003-04 season, including the Big 12 Conference tournament
(see the 2004 Tournament page
) An immediate release was tendered to every athlete in the men's basketball program. Four players took the school up on this offer: Lawrence Roberts, John Lucas III
, Kenny Taylor and Tyrone Nelson transferred to other schools. Two of the four became immediate stars at programs that would win regular-season conference titles in 2004. Roberts became the main inside force at Mississippi State
, leading the Bulldogs in scoring and rebounding and being selected as a first-team All-American. Lucas stayed in the conference at Oklahoma State, becoming the Cowboys' second-leading scorer and assists leader while helping the Cowboys to reach the Final Four
.
Kenny Taylor transferred to the University of Texas, Tyrone Nelson enrolled at Prairie View A&M University
, and Corey Herring transferred a year later to Canisius College
.
reported that Bliss told players to lie to investigators by indicating that Patrick Dennehy had paid for his tuition by dealing drugs
. These conversations were taped on microcassette
by assistant coach Abar Rouse from July 30 to August 1. On the tapes, Bliss was heard instructing players to fabricate the story of Dennehy being a drug dealer to the University's investigative committee and also said that talking to the McLennan County, Texas
Sheriff's Department would give him the opportunity to "practice" his story. The tapes also showed that Bliss and his staff knew that Dennehy had been threatened by two of their teammates when they publicly denied such knowledge.
Rouse taped the conversations after Bliss threatened to fire him if he did not go along with the scheme.
The revelations shocked the school and the college basketball community. However, despite the potential allegations of extortion
, obstruction of justice
and witness tampering
, no criminal charges were filed against Bliss.
After Baylor, Rouse worked as a graduate assistant coach at Midwestern State University
in Wichita Falls, Texas
. He left the position in October 2007. Rouse has not had another basketball job since leaving Midwestern State University, and has said that he "has been blackballed
, labeled a snitch and a turncoat" for taping Bliss' statements. Despite the near-universal revulsion at Bliss' actions, many leading members of the college basketball coaching fraternity considered Rouse's recordings a serious breach of trust (for example, Mike Krzyzewski said that if he ever found out one of his assistants had been secretly taping him, "there's no way he would be on my staff"). Rouse sued his attorney in 2005 for releasing the tapes, claiming that it breached the attorney-client privilege
; the suit is still pending.} Rouse's attorney claims she did not know how the tapes got transcribed, but the journalist who published them said he got it from her. Jeff Ray, the Midwestern coach who hired Rouse, commented: "I'm right in the middle of it, don't get me wrong. But sometimes the things you see are pretty disgusting. Why is there this black cloud hanging over him? He did nothing wrong. To me, this is all a testimony to the sad state of affairs of our profession."
Other improprieties of a lesser nature were also discovered.
As a result, the school imposed further penalties on the basketball program. The program's probation was extended for an additional year, scholarships were reduced for the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons, expense-paid recruiting visits were also reduced for the next two seasons and other recruiting abilities were also inhibited and one exhibition game was eliminated for the 2004-05 season. Baylor announced that it would re-certify its entire athletic department conformed to NCAA rules.
Baylor forwarded its findings to the NCAA, who imposed further penalties on the school on June 23, 2005:
The NCAA also imposed a 10-year "show-cause penalty" on Bliss for "despicable behavior" and "unethical conduct." This means that until 2015, any NCAA member school that wants to hire Bliss must report to the NCAA every six months stating that he is in compliance with any restrictions the NCAA imposes on him, unless that school can demonstrate that Bliss has served his punishment. It is the most severe penalty the NCAA can hand a coach. As most schools will not even consider hiring someone with a show-cause order outstanding, the order will likely have the effect of blackballing Bliss from the coaching ranks for the duration of the penalty. The NCAA found that Bliss and his staff had demonstrated "a blatant and sweeping disregard" for NCAA rules. Besides paying parts of Dennehy and Herring's tuition, Bliss admitted that he'd concealed under-the-table payments to Herring and lied to both the NCAA and Baylor investigators. He also admitted to telling assistant coaches to file false expense reports and lie to Baylor investigators.
Doug Ash, who had been Bliss' top assistant throughout Bliss' coaching career at Oklahoma
, SMU
, New Mexico and Baylor; was hit with a five-year "show-cause" order. Another former assistant, Rodney Belcher, was hit with a seven-year "show-cause" order for committing recruiting violations in bringing Dennehy to Baylor and lying about them to the infractions committee.
In its final report, the NCAA called the violations at Baylor as serious as those which occurred at SMU almost 20 years earlier. Indeed, Baylor was eligible for the "death penalty" since its men's tennis
program was on probation for major violations; the NCAA can hand down the death penalty for a second major violation within five years, even if it occurs in a different sport. However, it praised Baylor for taking prompt action once the violations came to light (in marked contrast to SMU, where there was evidence that administrators knew about the violations and did nothing).
Still, the scandal initially left Baylor's basketball program in ruin. Under new coach Scott Drew
, the Bears only won a total of 36 games (and only 13 conference games) from 2003 to 2007. However, Drew quickly turned the program around after his recruits arrived; the Bears made the NCAA Tournament in 2008, finished second in the 2009 NIT, and lost in the Elite Eight of the 2010 NCAA Tournament.
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
men's basketball
Baylor Bears men's basketball
The Baylor Bears basketball team represents Baylor University in Waco, Texas, in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. The Bears compete in the Big 12 Conference. The team plays its home games in Ferrell Center and is currently coached by Scott Drew....
program was investigated and punished for numerous NCAA violations. The scandal broke out after the 2003 murder of men's basketball player Patrick Dennehy
Patrick Dennehy
Patrick James Dennehy was an American college basketball player. He was born in Santa Clara, California. He was fatally shot by a teammate in 2003....
. His teammate, Carlton Dotson
Carlton Dotson
Carlton Eric Dotson, Jr. is an American former college basketball player who is currently serving a 35-year prison term for the murder of Patrick Dennehy, one of his teammates.-Basketball career:Dotson attended North Dorchester High School...
was convicted of the murder and sentenced to a 35-year prison term.
Shortly after Dennehy's disappearance, the school and the NCAA began investigations into multiple allegations, ranging from drug use among players to improper payments to players by the coaching staff. Baylor self-imposed punishments, which the NCAA augmented to include extended probation for the school through 2010, the elimination of one year of non-conference play, and a 10-year show-cause penalty on resigned head coach Dave Bliss
Dave Bliss
Dave Bliss is a former American college basketball coach. He coached at University of Oklahoma, Southern Methodist University, University of New Mexico and Baylor University...
. The sanctions so crippled the Bears that they didn't have another winning season until 2008. It is one of the harshest penalties ever imposed on a Division I
Division I
Division I is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States....
program that didn't include a death penalty.
The disappearance and murder of Patrick Dennehy
Patrick DennehyPatrick Dennehy
Patrick James Dennehy was an American college basketball player. He was born in Santa Clara, California. He was fatally shot by a teammate in 2003....
was a junior forward who transferred to Baylor University from the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
following his sophomore season in 2001–2002. After redshirting
Redshirt (college sports)
Redshirt is a term used in American college athletics that refers to a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen his or her period of eligibility...
the 2002-2003 season (to comply with the NCAA's Division I transfer policy), he was preparing to play for the Baylor Bears
Baylor Bears men's basketball
The Baylor Bears basketball team represents Baylor University in Waco, Texas, in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. The Bears compete in the Big 12 Conference. The team plays its home games in Ferrell Center and is currently coached by Scott Drew....
in the upcoming 2003-2004 season. Dennehy's friend and former teammate at Baylor, Carlton Dotson
Carlton Dotson
Carlton Eric Dotson, Jr. is an American former college basketball player who is currently serving a 35-year prison term for the murder of Patrick Dennehy, one of his teammates.-Basketball career:Dotson attended North Dorchester High School...
, had played one season on the Baylor basketball team after transferring from Paris Junior College
Paris Junior College
Paris Junior College, or PJC, was founded in 1924 as a campus of Paris Independent School District in the U.S. state of Texas and currently counts three campuses: Paris, Greenville, and Sulphur Springs with a total enrollment of 4,000 students...
in Paris, Texas
Paris, Texas
Paris, Texas is a city located northeast of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex in Lamar County, Texas, in the United States. It is situated in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods. Physiographically, these regions are part of the West Gulf Coastal Plain. In 1900, 9,358 people lived...
, in the summer of 2002, where he played two seasons.
In the summer of 2003, Dennehy and Dotson indicated that they were concerned about their safety. They had purchased two pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
s and a rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
and practiced firing them at a farm north of Waco, Texas
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
. On June 14, Dennehy told friend Daniel Okopnyi that he was worried about threats made to Dotson by two fellow teammates, one of whom was allegedly junior transfer Harvey Thomas. Dennehy also indicated that he and Dotson would be at a party the following day at which neither appeared.
Over the next few days, there were indications that something had gone wrong: Dennehy's mother and then-stepfather, Valorie and Brian Brabazon, were concerned that they had received no calls on Father's Day
Father's Day
Father's Day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. Many countries celebrate it on the third Sunday of June but it is also celebrated widely on other days...
. Dennehy's roommate, Chris Turk, returned from an out-of-town trip to find that Dennehy's dogs had not been fed in days. On June 19, the Brabazons filed a report with the Waco Police Department that Dennehy was missing.
On June 25, Dennehy's Chevrolet Tahoe
Chevrolet Tahoe
The Chevrolet Tahoe are full-size SUVs from General Motors. Chevrolet and GMC sold two different-sized SUVs under their Blazer/Jimmy model names through the early 1990s. This situation changed when GMC rebadged the full-size Jimmy as the Yukon in 1992...
SUV was found in the parking lot of a strip mall on Shore Drive in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with its license plates removed.
An affidavit filed on June 23, which was unsealed on June 30, seeking a search warrant
Search warrant
A search warrant is a court order issued by a Magistrate, judge or Supreme Court Official that authorizes law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person or location for evidence of a crime and to confiscate evidence if it is found....
for Dennehy's computer says that an informant in Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
told police that Dotson, who was by now at home in Hurlock, Maryland
Hurlock, Maryland
Hurlock is a town in Dorchester County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,874 at the 2000 census. It is home to WAAI radio. Joyce Spratt is the current mayor, and the town has five council members—Michael E. Henry , Michael D. Nordstrom , Parker J. Durham , Charles T. Cephas and...
, told a cousin that he had shot and killed Dennehy during an argument while firing guns in the Waco area. On July 21, Dotson was charged with the murder of Patrick Dennehy and taken into custody in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
.
The search for Dennehy continued for several weeks until July 25, when a badly-decomposed body was found in a gravel pit near Waco. The body was taken to Dallas for an autopsy and the following day medical examiners identified the body as being Patrick Dennehy. On July 30, his death was ruled a homicide after a preliminary autopsy report showed that Dennehy died of gunshot wounds to the head. Dennehy was buried in San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, on August 7.
On October 28, 2004, Dotson was declared incompetent to stand trial by District Judge George Allen and was sent to a state mental hospital
Mental Hospital
Mental hospital may refer to:*Psychiatric hospital*hospital in Nepal named Mental Hospital...
to be reevaluated in four months' time. Three psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
s, including one appointed by the court, said that Dotson appeared to be suffering from hallucination
Hallucination
A hallucination, in the broadest sense of the word, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus. In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid,...
s and psychosis
Psychosis
Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...
, but that should he regain competency in the future, he would be made to stand trial.
On June 8, 2005, five days before his trial for murder was to begin, Carlton Dotson unexpectedly pleaded guilty to killing Patrick Dennehy. On June 15, Dotson was sentenced to 35 years in prison. He will be eligible for parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
after he has served about half of his sentence.
Potential NCAA violations
In early August 2003, allegations arose concerning Dennehy's ability to remain with the Baylor basketball team during the 2002-2003 academic year without an athletic scholarshipAthletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
. Allegations of impropriety within the athletic department surfaced and Baylor University President Robert B. Sloan
Robert B. Sloan
Robert Bryan Sloan, Jr. is an American academic and theologian, currently serving as president of Houston Baptist University.-Education and background:...
appointed an investigative panel to determine if there were any potential NCAA violations at the school.
Having reached the limits on team scholarships, Bliss surreptitiously paid Dennehy's tuition
Tuition
Tuition payments, known primarily as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in British English, Canadian English, Australian English, New Zealand English and Indian English, refers to a fee charged for educational instruction during higher education.Tuition payments are charged by...
and that of teammate Corey Herring. Herring and his family had no knowledge of this: Herring was under the impression that he was on scholarship. During the investigations, Coach Bliss publicly portrayed Dennehy as a drug dealer to explain how Dennehy had paid his tuition, but was soon under investigation by the university and the NCAA. Additionally, in the weeks preceding his resignation, Bliss flew to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
—without the knowledge of anyone, including his wife—in an attempt to convince Herring's mother to lie about paying the $18,641. Later, Bliss pretended to be Herring's father—in an attempt to determine what evidence school and NCAA investigators might find against him—when he called Baylor's financial aid office to check on payments made to Herring's account.
Drug use
On August 1, further allegations arose from Carlton Dotson's estranged wife, Melissa Kethley, and by Sonya Hart, the mother of another athlete, Robert Hart. They reported widespread abuse of marijuanaCannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
and alcohol
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
among players that was subsequently ignored by head coach Dave Bliss
Dave Bliss
Dave Bliss is a former American college basketball coach. He coached at University of Oklahoma, Southern Methodist University, University of New Mexico and Baylor University...
and his staff.
Sonya Hart revealed that she had raised concerns about the drug use with associate athletic director Paul Bradshaw, but that no one ever got back in contact with her.
Recruiting violations
On August 5, two members of the 2002-2003 Baylor basketball team told The Dallas Morning NewsThe Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area, with a circulation of 264,459 subscribers, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in September 2010...
that members of the coaching staff were present during a pickup game involving Harvey Thomas during his official visit to Baylor. One of the two players said that Bliss and assistant coach Rodney Belcher were both present during the game.
NCAA rules state that staff observation of a recruit's athletic activities, directly or indirectly, during their official visit to their university constitute an "illegal tryout."
Violations at SMU
It was also revealed that Bliss had apparently broken several NCAA regulations during his tenure at Baylor and during his tenure at Southern Methodist UniversitySouthern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
from 1980 to 1988. At the time, both schools were members of the Southwest Conference.
On August 2, an NCAA memo obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is a major U.S. daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. Its area of domination is checked by its main rival, The Dallas Morning News, which is published from the eastern half of the Metroplex. It is owned...
detailed major rules violations, including booster payments of US$2,000 to $5,000 to center Jon Koncak
Jon Koncak
Jon Francis Koncak is a former American professional basketball player. A 7'0" center from Southern Methodist University, Koncak was selected with the 5th pick in the 1985 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks. Koncak spent ten seasons with the Hawks , mainly in a reserve role, then concluded his...
during his junior and senior years. Both Bliss and SMU received no NCAA penalties for the infractions because the university had already received the "Death Penalty" for massive violations in their football program
Southern Methodist University football scandal
The Southern Methodist University football scandal was an incident in which the football program at Southern Methodist University was investigated and punished for massive violations of NCAA rules and regulations. The most serious violation was the maintenance of a slush fund used for "under the...
in February 1987 and the decision was made not to further punish the SMU athletic department. Shortly after the investigation, Bliss left SMU to take a position at the University of New Mexico in 1988, before joining the Baylor program in 1999.
Bliss resigns, preliminary sanctions imposed
For his part, Bliss denied all allegations saying, "We have followed the rules, however difficult they may be, for 30 years."However, on the day after Dennehy's memorial service, Bliss met with school investigators. They told him that according to Dennehy's girlfriend, Bliss had paid for the portion of Dennehy's tuition not covered by financial aid. He'd also done the same for another player, Corey Herring. Both payments violated NCAA rules. Bliss confessed to making the payments, which totaled $7,000. This, combined with the violations of Baylor's drug test policy, and Bliss' presence at Thomas' official visit to Baylor, led President Sloan to force Bliss' resignation on August 8, 2003. Athletic director Tom Stanton resigned on the same day. Although there was no evidence that Stanton knew of the violations, he resigned to take responsibility for what happened.
On the same day Bliss resigned, the school's investigative committee announced their preliminary results and imposed preliminary sanctions on the basketball program. Initial sanctions imposed by the school included two years' probation and no postseason play for the 2003-04 season, including the Big 12 Conference tournament
Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament
The Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament is the championship men's basketball tournament in the Big 12 Conference. It is a single-elimination tournament of four rounds, with the top four seeds getting byes in the first round...
(see the 2004 Tournament page
2004 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament
-Regular Season/Seedings:*Baylor removed itself from postseason play, including the conference tournament, before the 2003–04 season . Because of this, Texas Tech got a bye in the first round of the tournament....
) An immediate release was tendered to every athlete in the men's basketball program. Four players took the school up on this offer: Lawrence Roberts, John Lucas III
John Harding Lucas III
John Harding Lucas III, often referred to as just John Lucas , is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls. He spent the 2009-10 season with the Shanghai Sharks of the CBA.-Early life:...
, Kenny Taylor and Tyrone Nelson transferred to other schools. Two of the four became immediate stars at programs that would win regular-season conference titles in 2004. Roberts became the main inside force at Mississippi State
Mississippi State University
The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...
, leading the Bulldogs in scoring and rebounding and being selected as a first-team All-American. Lucas stayed in the conference at Oklahoma State, becoming the Cowboys' second-leading scorer and assists leader while helping the Cowboys to reach the Final Four
Final four
Final Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...
.
Kenny Taylor transferred to the University of Texas, Tyrone Nelson enrolled at Prairie View A&M University
Prairie View A&M University
Prairie View A&M University is a historically black university located in Prairie View, Texas and is a member of the Texas A&M University System. PVAMU offers baccalaureate degrees in 50 academic majors, 37 master’s degrees and four doctoral degree programs through nine colleges and schools...
, and Corey Herring transferred a year later to Canisius College
Canisius College
Canisius College is a private Roman Catholic college in Buffalo, New York, United States. The college was founded in 1870 by members of the Society of Jesus from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. The college is one of 28 institutions in the Association of Jesuit Colleges and...
.
Lying to investigators
On August 16, the Fort Worth Star-TelegramFort Worth Star-Telegram
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is a major U.S. daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. Its area of domination is checked by its main rival, The Dallas Morning News, which is published from the eastern half of the Metroplex. It is owned...
reported that Bliss told players to lie to investigators by indicating that Patrick Dennehy had paid for his tuition by dealing drugs
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
. These conversations were taped on microcassette
Microcassette
A Microcassette is an audio storage medium introduced by Olympus in 1969. It uses the same width of magnetic tape as the Compact Cassette but in a much smaller container. By using thinner tape and half or a quarter the tape speed, microcassettes can offer comparable recording time to the compact...
by assistant coach Abar Rouse from July 30 to August 1. On the tapes, Bliss was heard instructing players to fabricate the story of Dennehy being a drug dealer to the University's investigative committee and also said that talking to the McLennan County, Texas
McLennan County, Texas
McLennan County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas. In 2000, its population was 213,517; in 2008 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated its population to be 230,213. Its seat is Waco. The county is named for Neil McLennan, an early settler....
Sheriff's Department would give him the opportunity to "practice" his story. The tapes also showed that Bliss and his staff knew that Dennehy had been threatened by two of their teammates when they publicly denied such knowledge.
Rouse taped the conversations after Bliss threatened to fire him if he did not go along with the scheme.
The revelations shocked the school and the college basketball community. However, despite the potential allegations of extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
, obstruction of justice
Obstruction of justice
The crime of obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, refers to the crime of interfering with the work of police, investigators, regulatory agencies, prosecutors, or other officials...
and witness tampering
Witness tampering
Witness tampering is harming or otherwise threatening a witness, hoping to influence his or her testimony.-Witness tampering in the USA:In the United States, the crime of witness tampering in federal cases is defined by statute at , "Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant"...
, no criminal charges were filed against Bliss.
After Baylor, Rouse worked as a graduate assistant coach at Midwestern State University
Midwestern State University
Midwestern State University is a public liberal arts college in Wichita Falls, Texas, and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges...
in Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States, United States. Wichita Falls is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay and Wichita counties. According to the U.S. Census estimate of 2010,...
. He left the position in October 2007. Rouse has not had another basketball job since leaving Midwestern State University, and has said that he "has been blackballed
Blacklist
A blacklist is a list or register of entities who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service, mobility, access or recognition. As a verb, to blacklist can mean to deny someone work in a particular field, or to ostracize a person from a certain social circle...
, labeled a snitch and a turncoat" for taping Bliss' statements. Despite the near-universal revulsion at Bliss' actions, many leading members of the college basketball coaching fraternity considered Rouse's recordings a serious breach of trust (for example, Mike Krzyzewski said that if he ever found out one of his assistants had been secretly taping him, "there's no way he would be on my staff"). Rouse sued his attorney in 2005 for releasing the tapes, claiming that it breached the attorney-client privilege
Attorney-client privilege
Attorney–client privilege is a legal concept that protects certain communications between a client and his or her attorney and keeps those communications confidential....
; the suit is still pending.} Rouse's attorney claims she did not know how the tapes got transcribed, but the journalist who published them said he got it from her. Jeff Ray, the Midwestern coach who hired Rouse, commented: "I'm right in the middle of it, don't get me wrong. But sometimes the things you see are pretty disgusting. Why is there this black cloud hanging over him? He did nothing wrong. To me, this is all a testimony to the sad state of affairs of our profession."
Penalties
Baylor continued to investigate the basketball program over the next seven months and released their final report on February 26, 2004. The full list of major program violations included:- Bliss paying for tuition for two players, Dennehy and Herring and attempting to conceal it.
- Coaching staff providing meals, transportation, lodging and clothing to athletes.
- Coaching staff paying for tuition and fees for a recruit at another school.
- Bliss's encouragement of school boosters to donate to a foundation tied to a basketball team that included prospective Baylor recruits.
- Failure to report positive drug test results by athletes.
- Failure by the entire coaching staff to "exercise institutional control over the basketball program."
Other improprieties of a lesser nature were also discovered.
As a result, the school imposed further penalties on the basketball program. The program's probation was extended for an additional year, scholarships were reduced for the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons, expense-paid recruiting visits were also reduced for the next two seasons and other recruiting abilities were also inhibited and one exhibition game was eliminated for the 2004-05 season. Baylor announced that it would re-certify its entire athletic department conformed to NCAA rules.
Baylor forwarded its findings to the NCAA, who imposed further penalties on the school on June 23, 2005:
- The university's probation was extended until June 22, 2010.
- Baylor was barred from playing any nonconference games for the 2005-06 season, the first time such a "half-season" penalty had been imposed.
- The NCAA further reduced Baylor's paid recruiting visits from twelve to nine for the 2006-07 season. (Baylor had already imposed restrictions on recruiting visits for the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons.)
- In addition, other smaller penalties were also imposed on Baylor.
The NCAA also imposed a 10-year "show-cause penalty" on Bliss for "despicable behavior" and "unethical conduct." This means that until 2015, any NCAA member school that wants to hire Bliss must report to the NCAA every six months stating that he is in compliance with any restrictions the NCAA imposes on him, unless that school can demonstrate that Bliss has served his punishment. It is the most severe penalty the NCAA can hand a coach. As most schools will not even consider hiring someone with a show-cause order outstanding, the order will likely have the effect of blackballing Bliss from the coaching ranks for the duration of the penalty. The NCAA found that Bliss and his staff had demonstrated "a blatant and sweeping disregard" for NCAA rules. Besides paying parts of Dennehy and Herring's tuition, Bliss admitted that he'd concealed under-the-table payments to Herring and lied to both the NCAA and Baylor investigators. He also admitted to telling assistant coaches to file false expense reports and lie to Baylor investigators.
Doug Ash, who had been Bliss' top assistant throughout Bliss' coaching career at Oklahoma
Oklahoma Sooners
The University of Oklahoma features 19 varsity sports teams. Both men's and women's teams are called the Sooners, a nickname given to the early participants in the land rushes which initially opened the Oklahoma Indian Territory to non-native settlement. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A,...
, SMU
SMU Mustangs
The SMU Mustangs is the name of the athletic teams representing Southern Methodist University. The Mustangs participate in the NCAA's Division I as a member of Conference USA. In 2005, SMU accepted an invitation to the Western Division of Conference USA, and left the Western Athletic Conference...
, New Mexico and Baylor; was hit with a five-year "show-cause" order. Another former assistant, Rodney Belcher, was hit with a seven-year "show-cause" order for committing recruiting violations in bringing Dennehy to Baylor and lying about them to the infractions committee.
In its final report, the NCAA called the violations at Baylor as serious as those which occurred at SMU almost 20 years earlier. Indeed, Baylor was eligible for the "death penalty" since its men's tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
program was on probation for major violations; the NCAA can hand down the death penalty for a second major violation within five years, even if it occurs in a different sport. However, it praised Baylor for taking prompt action once the violations came to light (in marked contrast to SMU, where there was evidence that administrators knew about the violations and did nothing).
Still, the scandal initially left Baylor's basketball program in ruin. Under new coach Scott Drew
Scott Drew
-References:...
, the Bears only won a total of 36 games (and only 13 conference games) from 2003 to 2007. However, Drew quickly turned the program around after his recruits arrived; the Bears made the NCAA Tournament in 2008, finished second in the 2009 NIT, and lost in the Elite Eight of the 2010 NCAA Tournament.