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Darker Shade of Brown: SMU Stupidity Earns NCAA Ban

By Hashim R. Hathaway

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As the NCAA hands down sanctions to the SMU Men’s Basketball program, we have to wonder if this permanently damages the legacy of head coach Larry Brown.

Second verse, same as the first.

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The NCAA, after an eight month investigation into a number of violations including academic fraud and other unethical conduct, slapped SMU with harsh sanctions, including a postseason ban, reduction of scholarships and a mandatory suspension of Mustangs head coach Larry Brown for 30 percent of the upcoming season.

According to the NCAA statement:

"Although [Brown] did not have direct knowledge or involvement in the misconduct, he did not follow up on the completion of coursework. Upon learning of the misconduct in 2014, the head basketball coach did not report it to the compliance staff, conference office or enforcement staff for more than a month. When asked by the NCAA enforcement staff about the potential violations, the head basketball coach initially denied having any information about the conversations with the former administrative assistant and student-athlete.[Brown] failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance within his program… and he initially lied to enforcement staff about his knowledge of the potential violations."

It doesn’t actually matter whether or not Brown had knowledge of the shenanigans surrounding former player Keith Frazier going on under his watch. Brown can’t hide behind the facade of the constantly-exhausted 75-year-old coach he projects, because this is in no way his first rodeo.

But Brown’s lies only compound the stupidity on the part of SMU for hiring a head coach who already had similar trouble at Kansas and UCLA. Brown hadn’t coached at the collegiate level since scandal ran him out of Kansas in 1988.

For SMU, a school defined by their football program previously being victim to the NCAA’s “Death Penalty”, it’s hard to fathom that a school would allow something so simple, so ignorant to happen under their noses after a scandal that the athletic department as a whole has yet to truly bounce back from.

It also means that the school now leads the nation with a staggering 10 NCAA Major Infractions under their belt.

On one hand, the entire affair is tragic because SMU is a preseason favorite, projected to appear in the AP Top 25 poll as well as run away with the American Athletic Conference title. Now it means nothing for a school hungry to have something good happen to any of their programs.

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    • On the other hand, this will likely seal the fate and legacy of an aging coach who, while amazing at the X’s and O’s, is a filthy cheat who can’t seem to stop cheating, even if he didn’t exactly get the ball rolling.

    Despite being a consummate workaholic, Brown’s advanced age likely means that SMU is the final stop on what can only be called a checkered career. In addition to the mentioned sanctions, the NCAA also hit Brown with a two-year show-cause order that runs through Sept. 28, 2017.

    While SMU plans to appeal the ruling, there is no way that Brown should be allowed to remain in his role as head coach. To keep him, even past his nine-game suspension, would be a slap in the face to every institution that prides themselves on doing things above board.

    To keep Larry Brown employed means that the cheating we know nearly every school does in one way or another is essentially acceptable. For SMU, keeping him around is a naked reminder of their decades-long failure to lead a decent athletic department.

    Maybe one Death Penalty wasn’t enough.

    Next: Julius Randle and his Second Chance at a Rookie Season

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