Utah Basketball: Utes get two years of probation for recruiting violations

Utah Basketball has committed multiple recruiting violations, and as a result the NCAA is putting the Utes’ program on two years of probation.

A NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions panel announced Tuesday that the men’s Utah Basketball squad has committed several recruiting violations. Consequently, the panel issued a handful of penalties against the Utes, including two years of probation, a $5,000 fine, which was already self-imposed by the university, and various recruiting restrictions, according to a press release from the panel.

The panel says that, among the violations, Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak, an associate head coach and two assistant coaches “conducted impermissible on- and off-campus recruiting activities,” which are Level II violations. Additionally, Krystkowiak “is presumed responsible for the recruiting violations,” a Level II violation, and a recruiting prospect “participated in summer athletics activity that was organized and observed by the men’s basketball coaching staff,” a Level III violation.

The Utes, a member of the Pac-12 Conference, noted in a statement released Tuesday by the university’s athletics department that Utah has accepted all the penalties in the NCAA’s report, “most of which were self-imposed­ by the University.”

Per the Utes’ press release, the recruiting violations “centered on a misreading of the NCAA calendar and a misinterpretation of the official visit limitations. Though the calendar oversight resulted in Utah coaches visiting a prospect at his high school during a period when in-person, off-campus recruiting was impermissible, the staff did follow all institutional policies and procedures in coordinating the visit. The coaches also inadvertently triggered an official visit when the same prospect made an unofficial visit to Utah in connection with his official visit to Salt Lake Community College, which also was interested in the prospect.”

The Utes’ statement continued with, “Although Utah carefully adhered to its understanding of the rules relating to unofficial visits when the prospect came to Salt Lake City, the NCAA classified the visit to Utah’s campus as official, thus exceeding the number of permitted official visits for the recruiting period.” These violations by the Utes, says the NCAA, occurred over a seven-day period in April of 2018.

According to the committee, Krystkowiak “violated NCAA head coach control rules when he did not promote rules compliance and monitor his staff to ensure they were following the rules.”

The Utah hoops unit, per the NCAA panel, also committed a Level III violation when the men’s basketball staff observed Krystkowiak’s “prospect-aged son participating with members of the men’s basketball team in a practice activity. The committee noted the coaches’ observation of the otherwise permissible activity converted it into an impermissible tryout.”

Initially, the committee proposed a two-game suspension for Krystkowiak. The committee, following an appeal, reversed the proposed suspension, according to Utah, “on the basis that the violations were unintentional, limited and not indicative of systemic problems.”

Per the NCAA, the associate head coach received a one-year, show-cause order.