Mizzou's Snyder under fire - NCAA

The University of Missouri basketball program may have been
cleared of any major wrongdoings last week when the NCAA made
public its 25-page report. However, the investigation now has
a more pointed look after Satur day's release of an unedited
version of the report, which has made it easier to figure out
who is responsible for the improper actions. That and this
report from The St. Louis Post Dispatch's Jeremy Rutherford

In documents obtained by The Associated Press, Missouri basketball
coach Quin Snyder is mentioned in 17 of the 40- plus violations,
which vary from recruiting infractions to clothing given to
former MU player Ricky Clemons to meals and gifts that Snyder's
wife, Helen, provided to a Tigers player.

While the university was not cited for "lack of institutional
control," the NCAA did allege in the report that the school
failed to monitor rules compliance. The NCAA specified one person
in the report released last week, but that name was blanked out
by MU officials, who cited personnel privacy. But through the
unedited documents, which were obtained by the AP via the Sunshine
Law, it is now known that Snyder was the focus.

"The institution demonstrated a failure to adequately monitor
for NCAA rules compliance in the men's basketball program in
that the head men's basketball coach failed at all times to
maintain an environment of NCAA rules compliance among his
basketball staff," the NCAA wrote.

Reached Saturday night in Chicago, Missouri athletics director
Mike Alden said he "could not comment" on the investigation.
MU officials are scheduled to respond to the allegations by July
1 and then meet with the NCAA's infractions committee for
hearings Aug. 13-15 in Seattle.

In the NCAA's report, the violations committed by MU assistant
coach Tony Harvey and former assistant Lane Odom are just as
sources told the Post-Dispatch last week. Harvey is accused of
perhaps the most costly infraction: paying Clemons a one- time
sum of $250, an allegation Harvey continues to deny. The report
also notes that Harvey is accused of buying meals for Amateur
Athletic Union (AAU) coaches and misinforming Missouri who the
meals were purchased for. Harvey has been placed on paid
administrative leave by the university.

Odom resigned last Tuesday in the wake of the NCAA's findings.
He was linked to several recruiting violations, many involving
excessive telephone calls.

The allegations against Snyder are all fairly minor in nature,
but the sheer number of them is alarming.

Snyder, 37, is accused of making personal contact with and providing
meals for prospective players. As he has acknowledged, Snyder
is also being targeted for providing clothing to an MU player,
known to be Clemons.

In an interesting subplot, Helen Snyder was cited in the report
for providing a "belated Christmas gift" to an MU athlete in 2003.
The gift, according to the report, included a Nike book bag and
Nike winter coat. Helen Snyder is also mentioned for providing
food to an athlete "with Snyder's approval" at the family's home.

Alden must have been considering that when he told the Post-
Dispatch last week, "What we're saying is, 'This is it, Quin.
No more.' My hope is that he's going to turn it around and clean
it up. This isn't just about being a coach. It's about being a
manager, the CEO of a program. He's in charge of everything that
goes on. And he set's the example, the tone. We want high integrity,
class and close attention to detail."

Snyder was unavailable for comment Saturday. That and this report
from The St. Louis Post Dispatch's Jeremy Rutherford


--
"It was in the halftime that we realized that Bi-Sheng had praised
Karl's leadership in that Kobe article. So it's Karl who should have
taken precautions, not Kobe. I think there are a lot of things Zen
couldn't solve or explain, like Bi-Sheng's jinx."
-- Phil Jackson, commenting how Bi-Sheng can change the game of basketball
after the game against the Phoenix Suns

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