A blue day in Ann Arbor

Michigan takes first step in penalizing basketball team

Michigan announced Thursday that it was self-imposing sanctions on its men's basketball program as a result of players accepting money from booster Ed Martin. The school will forfeit four years' worth of victories, return money it earned from playing in the NCAA tournament, and ban itself from the postseason in 2003. CNNSI.com asked Sports Illustrated staff writer Seth Davis what this all means for the Wolverines.

CNNSI.com: What affect does this decision have on Chris Webber?

Davis: This is very bad news for Chris Webber. I spoke today with Michigan athletic director Bill Martin and they are making no bones about the fact that this decision means that they believe that Chris Webber did take that money from Ed Martin. They had -- and Michigan's lawyer’s had -- access to all of the evidence that the FBI collected in the case against Ed Martin, and Chris Webber went in front of a Federal Grand Jury and said flat-out that he did not take the money. So I think it's fair to assume that if Webber's case does get to a jury and that jury sees the same evidence that Michigan's lawyers saw here, then I think it's a good chance that the jury would come to the same conclusion. That would put Chris Webber in some very major legal jeopardy.

CNNSI.com: There was some thought that because the investigation of Martin has followed the program for so long (the scandal involves members of the Fab Five), Michigan has already endured enough. Given that, does this decision surprise you?

Davis: I'm not surprised, because the NCAA still has yet to weigh in officially. The best way to inoculate oneself against a harsh penalty is to beat the NCAA to the punch. But that strategy does not always pay off, and it remains to be seen whether it will in this case. Scholarship reductions -- something the school did not self-impose -- are still a possibility. I think addressing the issue now is smart on the administration's part because the problems with Martin happened so long ago and so much has gone on since then, especially the firing of former coach Steve Fisher. I think school officials would have a pretty strong case to say that the people who are running things now don't deserve to be punished. But logic does not always work with the NCAA.

CNNSI.com: How does this impact the team in the short term?

Davis: The postseason ban isn't a big deal; at best, Michigan might be losing out on an NIT bid. Keep in mind that it's nice to play for a chance to go to the NCAA tournament, so when we're talking about coaching kids trying to work toward a goal, and now you're taking away the reward, it's certainly not nothing. But for the Wolverines just to make the NCAA tournament field in 2003, that would have been a tremendously successful season. Beyond that, the coaching staff could not realistically have set high goals.

Returning the money is a no-brainer; you have to do that. A postseason ban is the next logical step in self-imposing sanctions, followed by scholarship limits, which would really put the program in a hole.

CNNSI.com: You mentioned that the school has a pretty strong case against the NCAA imposing scholarship reductions, but with the amount of money allegedly involved, wouldn't the NCAA feel a need to limit scholarships?

Davis: My sense is that the NCAA Infractions Committee likes to impose its own penalties. By self-imposing penalties, that's a calculation you make, because you want to demonstrate that you're taking proactive measures. But you almost want to hold back a little so that the committee can impose something extra. It's a delicate dynamic. The only thing predictable about the infractions process is that it's unpredictable.

The most important thing for Michigan is that this is adjudicated quickly. A cloud has hung over the program for so long because of the Martin investigation; the school would have liked to have done this years ago, but it had to wait for the trial to be over. Also, the negative perception of the program will hang around until the Chris Webber case is settled, and that's not going to be for a while.

But all this really hasn't seemed to hurt recruiting. Tommy Amaker is getting good players. The school just needs to get all this behind it, and self-imposing sanctions is an important step.

CNNSI.com: Do you think Amaker regrets taking the job?

Davis: I doubt it. I think he had a pretty good idea the school would be penalized as a result of the Martin situation when he took it. There are varying opinions in the coaching profession of how good a job the Michigan position is, but Amaker accepted the job knowing something was going to come down.

CNNSI.com: Will losing a couple scholarships really keep players from wanting to come to Michigan?

Davis: The reality will hurt more than the perception. What Michigan needs is simply to get players. LSU is just now getting back to a full complement of scholarships after being placed on probation in 1999. If I'm Amaker, that's the one thing that scares me right now.

Sports Illustrated staff writer Seth Davis covers college basketball for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.

 

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