Haith receives five-game suspension

ST. LOUIS -- Missouri coach Frank Haith has been suspended for five games by the NCAA, which announced Tuesday that he had inadequately monitored his former assistants' interactions with a disgraced Miami booster and then tried to cover up a five-figure hush money payment to keep potential violations hidden.

The NCAA released the findings of its two-year investigation into convicted felon Nevin Shapiro's relationship with Miami athletics and said that Haith, the former Hurricanes basketball coach, failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance with its rules.

The investigation found that Haith and Miami assistant coach Jake Morton provided Shapiro $10,000 after he threatened to expose previous improper contact with high school recruits and amateur coaches, as well as other unflattering details involving a booster now serving a 20-year prison term for masterminding a $930 million Ponzi scheme.

Shapiro, who had basketball season tickets with a courtside seat and had donated an estimated $500,000 to Miami, initially demanded a large loan from Haith after he experienced financial trouble or the return a $50,000 donation from a benefit bowling tournament he had hosted. The coach refused.

Morton, who joined Western Kentucky as an assistant coach in 2011 but resigned in April as its director of basketball operations, then loaned Shapiro at least $6,000, which he later repaid. The NCAA also said Haith helped Morton and two other assistants pay $10,000 to Shapiro's mother and "attempted to cover up the booster's threats to disclose incriminating information."

Missouri plays four of its first give games this season at Mizzou Arena, starting with Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 8. Haith will also miss home games against Southern Illinois, Gardner-Webb and IUPUI, as well as a Nov. 16 game against Hawaii in Kansas City. He also must attend an NCAA rules seminar next summer.

Haith said he "strongly disagree(s)" with the NCAA Committee on Infractions' report "and the inference on how the program was run at the University of Miami" but won't appeal the findings.

Nor will Missouri, which was not penalized. Haith's statement was accompanied by supportive statements from Chancellor Brady Deaton, athletic director Mike Alden and the university's top compliance officer.

"After all this time, Coach Haith, his family, the University of Missouri, our student-athletes and our fans, deserve closure," Alden said. "I'm proud to have Frank Haith as our men's basketball coach."

Haith came to Columbia in 2011 after seven years at Miami, with the allegations from his time in Coral Gables surfacing several months after his surprise hire from a .500 program that never reached the NCAA tournament under his watch.

Beyond Haith's penalties, Miami's football team will lose a total of nine scholarships and the Hurricanes' men's basketball team will lose three over a three-year period starting in 2014. The school will also serve three years of probation.

Former Haith assistant Jorge Fernandez was penalized for redeeming airline frequent flier miles on behalf of a player's mother.