Wednesday it was reported by CBS Sports that at least six programs will be receiving notice of allegations stemming from NCAA investigations into the conduct that found a handful of assistant coaches in federal custody after the FBI's investigation in corruption and bribery in college basketball.
Arizona was hit by the scandal as former assistant coach Emanuel "Book" Richardson was arrested and charged with several crimes including conspiracy to commit bribery for accepting $20,000 as part of the scheme.
Richardson pleaded guilty to one of the charges and was recently sentenced to three months in prison for his actions. While Sean Miller's longtime assistant is no longer part of the program at Arizona the Wildcats are not in the clear.
Richardson broke federal law and he did so while he was an employee of the university and on Miller's staff. That was always going to get the attention of the NCAA and an investigation into any potential violations was opened up earlier this year.
There had been some speculation that any punishments that would be handed out from the investigations of any program involved in the case might not come until next year at the earliest. However, as Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports reported there are at least six programs that will learn of their violations this summer with at least two of them finding out in the coming weeks.
NCAA vice president for regulatory affairs Stan Wilcox told Dodd that the NCAA cases are those stemming from the FBI's investigation and are considered Level 1-grade violations, which are the highest among the NCAA's rulebook.
Wilcox's comments still left some gray areas regarding who exactly would be involved and what it all means for a program like Arizona, for instance.
Yahoo Sports was able to confirm through an official statement from the NCAA, Thursday, that indeed "at least" six programs will receive a notice of allegations and that it will all take place "within the coming months.”
The report also notes that the NCAA confirmed there are "likely" to be more schools added to the list beyond just the initial six being reported on this week.
It is still unknown whether or not Arizona is one of those six schools, but the general consensus right now is that the notice of allegations will go in order of how the FBI trials played out.
Miller and Arizona were not brought up much until the later trial that only recently wrapped up in New York.
The swifter action by the NCAA is certainly a change from the typical pace of something of this magnitude, but it has been made clear this week by both Wilcox and the statement made to Yahoo Sports that the organization understands the level of attention this case has received over the last nearly two years.
“Colleges and universities have a responsibility to run their athletics programs within NCAA rules. Our membership expects us to hold accountable those who fail to do so," the statement from the NCAA to Yahoo Sports said.
Arizona has been content to wait out the investigation process with athletic director Dave Heeke and the administration staying mostly quiet throughout the process. Level 1 violations can bring an array of punishments including loss of scholarships, postseason bans and show-cause orders against coaches.
