Smith placed on personal leave

Southeast Missouri State placed women's basketball coach B.J. Smith on leave Thursday for personal reasons, athletic director Don Kaverman said.

"We're not commenting on the reasons," Kaverman said Thursday.

He added that the leave, during which time Smith will be paid, was indefinite.

John Ishee, who was a volunteer assistant for Smith at Southeast in 2002-03 and is in his first year back at the university, will be the acting head coach while Smith is on leave, Kaverman said. Assistants Lisa Pace and Jenni Lingor also will be on the bench when Southeast opens its season Saturday at Tulsa.

Kaverman planned to meet with the team Thursday afternoon to inform the players of the decision.

The program had its best season in Division I last year, finishing 22-9 after tying for the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title and winning the conference championship for its first NCAA tournament berth.

During Smith's four seasons, Southeast is 79-41 overall and 51-17 in conference play, both best marks in the OVC over that time.

The program also is awaiting the results of an NCAA investigation that began last winter, after university president Dr. Kenneth Dobbins asked in late January the OVC commissioner's office to look into potential violations. A preliminary report from the conference, conducted by The Compliance Group, found violations in seven areas. The university released that report on June 30 and imposed several sanctions on the program, including a reduction in scholarships from 15 to 12 for this school year.

University officials have said they are in a window now where the NCAA's letter of allegations could arrive at any time.

"I would expect that it would be in the very near time, but we've been saying that for a while," Kaverman said.

~Check out Friday's Southeast Missourian for more on this story.