Jim Boeheim disputed his responsibility for the allegations the NCAA investigated about the Syracuse head coach and the men’s basketball program.

Most of the allegations in the investigation were not disputed, according to the report. But Boeheim argued about if he should be held accountable, NCAA chief hearing officer and Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky confirmed on a teleconference Friday.

In a release, Chancellor Kent Syverud said the university doesn’t think Boeheim was responsible for the rules violations. The violations included academic misconduct and impermissible academic assistance and services, which Banowsky focused on when responding to the university’s denial of Boeheim’s responsibility.

“The rule is pretty clear that the head coach has a duty to monitor the activities of those in the program and he’s also presumed to be accountable for their violations,” Banowsky said. “And the presumption in this case was not effectively rebutted at all.”

“In fact, the coach hired the director of basketball operations to improve the academic performance of the players and he did it by logging into their email accounts, exchanging communication with professors about what the student needs to do. And in concert with the basketball receptionist, assisted in the preparation of coursework for the players. So in this case the panel felt the head coach should be responsible, for the people who report directly to him, most certainly.”

The sanctions suspended Boeheim for nine games of conference play and stated that all games in which ineligible players participated from the 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2010-11 and 2011-12. SU identified 24 basketball wins – 14 in 2004-05 and nine from 2011-12 – in which ineligible players played, according to the report, but the Committee on Infractions panel will release a final number within 45 days.

Syracuse won 74 games from 2004-7 and 61 from 2010-12. Banowsky said finalizing the number of wins to be vacated is “more or less a clerical matter,” but that the number could go up or down.

SU has 15 days to appeal the NCAA’s ruling. The university will support Boeheim in any individual appeal he makes, according to Syverud’s release.

Published on March 6, 2015 at 4:02 pm

Contact Jacob: jmklinge@syr.edu | @Jacob_Klinger_