Arizona has split from men’s basketball coach Sean Miller while the program awaits its fate in an NCAA violation investigation, one person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.
The person informed the AP on Wednesday, subject to anonymity, that no official announcement had been made.
Miller and the Wild cats I’ve been on the NCAA’s crosshairs since I got caught up in an FBI investigation into shady recruitment practices in 2017.
The move was first reported by Stadium.
The NCAA released a notice of allegations last year and the case is currently undergoing the independent accountability resolution process. Arizona issued a self-imposed postseason ban this year, finishing 17: 9, 11: 9 in the Pac-12.
Miller was the third Wildcats coach to get 300 wins with the program, going between 302 and 109 in 12 seasons.Arizona reached the Elite Eight three times, won five Pac-12 titles in the regular season and three Pac-12 titles Tournament title under Miller.
But Arizona failed to make the Final Four under Miller and hadn’t won an NCAA tournament game since reaching the Sweet 16 in 2017. Miller entered the final year of his contract.
Miller routinely enlisted some of the best recruiting classes in the country after being lured by Xavier in 2009. However, his recruiting methods were reviewed when assistant coach Emanuel Richardson was among 10 people arrested as part of a federal corruption investigation into college basketball.
Richardson was fired from the university and later pleaded guilty to accepting bribes of $ 20,000 from aspiring chief executive Christian Dawkins. He was sentenced to three months in prison in 2019.
Miller suspended a game in 2018 after ESPN reported he heard on an FBI wiretap device about a payment of $ 100,000 to future NBA election Deandre Ayton. Miller vehemently denied the report, and University President Robert C. Robbins announced a few days later that Miller would remain the Wildcats’ trainer.
The NCAA statement of allegations sent in October contained nine cases of wrongdoing, including lack of institutional oversight and oversight by the university, and lack of oversight from the head coach by Miller.
