Former UConn Coach Kevin Ollie Receives NCAA Violations

College Basketball

Former UConn Coach Kevin Ollie Receives NCAA Violations

Former Connecticut Huskies men’s basketball head coach Kevin Ollie got a violation notice from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) during his time with the Huskies. Most of the violations relate to recruiting, also specifying two former Connecticut players conversing with prospects.

The NCAA will more than likely review Ollie’s case in a hearing with committee members. The allegations were made public on Friday, with the two names of the recruits taken off the report. Ollie’s violations, according to the report, includes giving false or misleading information about video calls to the two recruits.

The two recruits allegedly spoke with Ray Allen and Rudy Gay, the two former Connecticut players mentioned earlier. Something like this has been expected after the school fired Ollie in March. Connecticut released a very large document of about 1,300 pages outlining the violation claims against Ollie.

Denying Allegations

Kevin claims that any violations occurring were both small and isolated, also fighting the school’s decision to withhold money from him. His lawyer issued a statement late Friday night once the allegations went public.

“Coach Ollie denies engaging in any conduct that would constitute non-compliance with NCAA rules and regulations and looks forward to defending himself and restoring his reputation.”

In a Nutshell

The allegations against Kevin Ollie include:

• Delivering false or misleading information
• Improper contact with recruits (Ray Allen and Rudy Gay)
• Providing improper meals to recruits
• Shooting baskets with a recruit
• Holding improper workouts with recruits
• Providing free tickets to an athletic trainer who was holding improper on-and-off campus workouts

Connecticut may have an easy time moving on from Ollie because they hired former Rhode Island men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley this year. Despite Ollie going 127-79 with a national championship in 2014, Hurley’s track record is very impressive. Hurley took a below .500 Wagner program to a 25-6 record in just two years, also taking Rhode Island to the postseason in three of his final four seasons.

 

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