Redhawks rekindle search for assistant

The Southeast Missouri State women's basketball program is in the market for an assistant coach again.

The university had closed the process with the expected return of Katrina Colwell, who was on the staff last season when Southeast finished 22-9, won its first Ohio Valley Conference tournament title and gained its first NCAA Division I tournament berth.

But Southeast athletic director Don Kaverman said this week that Colwell won't return to coach on B.J. Smith's staff, and the position has been reposted.

"I just think, after further review, the university decided to repost and look further," Kaverman said.

Smith and assistant coach Lisa Pace return from last year's staff, while John Ishee returns to Southeast in one of the assistant positions after a three-year absence.

Colwell, after previously serving as a student manager, had been with the program as an assistant coach for one season, then took a job at Herculaneum High School this spring before deciding in late June to return to Southeast.

Smith's Southeast program has posted the OVC's best conference and overall records over his four-year tenure.

He said earlier this month with the addition of Colwell that he thought he had his best coaching staff assembled.

Awaiting word from NCAA

The program, which has self-imposed sanctions including the loss of three scholarships for 2006-07 due to violations of NCAA rules, is awaiting the final resolution from the NCAA.

Kaverman said the university still expects that process to conclude by mid-August, "unless the university receives notification that it may take longer, and we have not received that notification yet."

Both university president Dr. Kenneth Dobbins and Chuck Smrt of The Compliance Group, which led the investigation on behalf of the OVC, said this week that areas beyond the seven reported areas of violations were looked into before the conference report was issued June 30.

Smrt said that while he was able to share information with the NCAA, he said the association's ongoing investigation could lead to the disclosure of more violations.

"There were other allegations that were looked at," Smrt said Friday. "The other ones, at that point, we did not believe were violations, or we were not sure of or there was not enough developed information.

"The report was where we were at this point, two weeks ago, and listed the seven areas that I would have the most knowledge of."

The OVC report included violations related to transportation issues, funds from a university source during a period when student-athletes weren't entitled to the funds, inappropriate use of a coach's computer by a student-athlete, inappropriate amounts of rent or no rent paid for lodging and issues involving summer camp work and workouts.

The conference report, Smrt said, did not reach conclusions on who was involved in the violations or how many incidents occurred.

In addition to the reduction in scholarships, Southeast imposed a reduction of recruiting days, asked the OVC for annual compliance audits, prohibited Smith from recruiting off-campus this month and is restructuring its compliance office.