The NCAA announced its sanctions against the SMU men’s basketball team Tuesday, headlined by a 2015-16 postseason ban and suspension of Hall of Fame Head Coach Larry Brown for 30 percent of the season.
The story began Jan. 12, 2015, when SMU assistant basketball coach Ulric Maligi, largely responsible for recruiting McDonald’s All-Americans Keith Frazier and Emmanuel Mudiay, took a leave of absence. At the time, Bard Sutton, SMU’s senior associate athletic director, said Ulric was taking an indefinite leave of absence for “personal reasons.”
Four days later, on Jan. 16, the university released the following statement revealing that the NCAA was pursuing an investigation into potential rules violations within its basketball and golf programs:
“SMU has received a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA.