MU faces multiple violations

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The NCAA alleges multiple rules violations by the University of Missouri basketball program, including an assertion that an assistant coach gave an athlete $250, sources familiar with the report told The Associated Press on Monday.

But after a months-long investigation, the NCAA has thrown out allegations that troubled former player Ricky Clemons received improper academic help to get into Missouri because the charge couldn't be substantiated, said the sources, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

Tony Harvey, the associate head coach who is Quin Snyder's top assistant, is alleged to have given Clemons $250, the AP's sources said. Harvey has denied that allegation. "My story isn't changing," he said Monday.

The AP's sources said other alleged violations between 1999 and 2003 included a breach of ethical conduct by a member of the athletic department staff in trying to conceal rulebreaking; impermissible providing of meals and transportation for current athletes and recruits; impermissible out-of-season league play by team members; impermissible contacts with recruits; and impermissible meals for Amateur Athletic Union coaches.

"There are multiple counts," said one source.

The AP's sources said the NCAA did not allege a lack of institutional control. Such a violation could include punishment such as a ban on postseason play or television appearances.

However, if the NCAA's Infractions Committee validates the allegations, Missouri could face recruiting sanctions, including loss of scholarships or recruiting privileges.

The NCAA's formal "notice of allegations" arrived at Missouri last Friday. School officials declined immediate comment, scheduling an 11 a.m. Tuesday news conference on campus.

But the AP's sources said Missouri will challenge at least some of the allegations by a July 1 deadline. A hearing has already been scheduled by the NCAA's Infractions Committee during its meetings Aug. 13-15 in Seattle, the AP's sources said.

NCAA spokeswoman Kay Hawes declined comment Monday evening, saying the investigation process is confidential. The Kansas City Star first reported the university's receipt of the notice of allegations on its Web site Monday afternoon.

Chad Moller, a spokesman for Missouri athletics, confirmed that the school received the formal NCAA notice of allegations, summarizing findings of an investigation that mushroomed after Clemons, a point guard, got into legal trouble in a January 2003 domestic assault incident with his then-girlfriend, Jessica Bunge.

Harvey and Snyder have said no Missouri coaches gave money to Clemons. In a television interview with HBO taped Feb. 21, Clemons replied "yes" when asked whether he had been paid by coaches at Missouri, renewing earlier allegations by both Clemons and Bunge. Clemons, who has moved to North Carolina, said he didn't know the total amount he received.

On Monday, Harvey said he remained in his post at Missouri and stood by earlier denials of providing cash to players.

"I'm associate head coach, and I plan on still being the associate head coach," Harvey said in a telephone interview. "I have cooperated totally and fully with the NCAA. My story isn't changing. I'm not deviating from anything I said before."

Harvey referred other questions to his Atlanta-based attorney, Stu Brown, who said he could not confirm or discuss specific allegations against Harvey.

The university president, Elson Floyd, and the Columbia campus athletic director, Mike Alden, declined comment Monday.

Although he would not discuss any allegations, Brown criticized the NCAA's investigators.

"The NCAA enforcement staff shows a willingness to make serious allegations without reliable support and in the face of strong exonerating information, and that is a practice that I believe harms anybody who is so casually accused of wrongdoing and also diminishes the credibility of the entire investigation," Brown said.

Hawes, the NCAA spokeswoman, said the Infractions Committee typically hears from both its staff and those accused of violations, then customarily takes up to eight weeks to confirm a major violation. If no major violation is found, there is no announcement.

Last fall, after Bunge alleged Clemons received improper academic assistance, Floyd ordered an in-house investigation by Michael Devaney, an electrical engineering professor and former head of the campus Faculty Council. The AP's sources said Floyd and Devaney planned to appear at the Tuesday news conference to stress that the academic allegations had been dismissed.