5 ways FBI investigation could snare Sean Miller
The University of Arizona is bracing for fallout from assistant basketball coach Emanuel “Book” Richardson’s arrest on federal bribery charges, but the school’s president and athletic director say head coach Sean Miller has their full support.
Miller, who is well-regarded, has not been charged with or accused of any misconduct.
There’s no hint in the 59-page federal complaint that Miller knew about any of Richardson’s activities as alleged by federal prosecutors. Richardson is accused of accepting $20,000 in bribes, purportedly to steer players to a
particular management company when those players turned pro. Richardson has maintained through his attorney that he is not guilty.
But the federal investigation is not over, and the university has hired a law firm to conduct an independent investigation. Miller and other athletic-department employees are expected to be interviewed as part of that review.
There’s an “outside chance” the FBI investigation, which also ensnared three assistant coaches at other schools and six other individuals, will cost Miller his job, said a public-relations crisis counselor who worked with Penn State and Duke University when they were rocked by sports scandals.
“There’s only two ways he (Miller) will go down. One: If he confesses. And two: If Book Richardson gives testimony against him,” said Gene Grabowski, a partner with Kglobal in Washington, D.C.
If Miller, 48, were implicated, his fiveyear contract lays out circumstances in which the Arizona Board of Regents could fire him for cause and not pay out the remainder of his contract. Miller earns at least $2.6 million a year, with increases of $100,000 a year due over the next three years.
The termination clause is one of the most important parts of a coach’s contract. It’s also the most contentious area of negotiation, said Mark Conrad, professor of sports law and director of the Sports Business Program at Fordham University.
University officials want to make sure that they have the ability to fire a coach without paying the rest of the contract if there are major allegations of wrongdoing, he said.
In Arizona, the regents require the state universities to have standard termination clauses in their contracts with head coaches so the terms are similar.
“There’s a fair amount of protection for big-time college coaches, and a fair amount of protection for this coach in his contract,” said Conrad, who reviewed Miller’s 19-page contract at the request of The Arizona Republic and azcentral .com.
If a board wants to get rid of a coach, board members will do what they can to interpret the clauses in favor of termination, he said.
Here’s a look at the clauses in Miller’s contract that could relate most directly to the FBI investigation, if Miller were to be implicated:
1. Demonstrated dishonesty.
This clause basically gives the regents the ability to fire a coach if they can demonstrate he lied, failed to disclose requested information or gave inaccurate information, Conrad said.
2. Substantial neglect of properly assigned duties.
Coaches agree to a whole host of duties in their contract, including supervising the conduct and activities of assistant coaches and following NCAA regulations. Conrad said for this clause to be used, the university would have to show a cumulative violation. Simply missing a meeting with university officials or skipping a practice once wouldn’t be enough.
3. Conviction of a criminal act that constitutes a felony.
Conrad said this clause in Miller’s contract is interesting, because some coaching contracts he has reviewed are broader, allowing a university to fire a coach if he is “arrested or convicted.”
Miller’s contract is specific to only conviction, he said, and a conviction can take years to work through the courts.
4. Material or repetitive violations of athletic department, board or university policies.
Conrad said this area could give the university the most leverage.
University policies can be fairly broad when it comes to employee expectations, getting into issues such as behavior and a code of conduct.
The Republic has requested copies of applicable policies from both the regents and the university but has not yet received them.
5. Substantial or repeated violations of NCAA regulations.
Miller has had no NCAA violations under his watch since coming to Arizona in 2009.
But the NCAA will have “no choice” but to look into the federal allegations against the UA’s assistant coach, said Grabowski, the crisis consultant. Whether such an investigation would result in NCAA violations remains to be seen.
The NCAA did not respond to a request for comment regarding UA’s basketball program.
There were allegations against UA besides bribery contained in federal complaints filed in September.
One of the criminal complaints filed in New York indicates that the University of Arizona may have been locked in a bidding war with the University of Miami in August for a five-star high-school prospect.
The FBI filing does not name the two universities, but contains facts that identify them to a certainty.
One document says defendant Merl Code, an Adidas executive, was wiretapped on Aug. 11 discussing concerns that the University of Arizona was offering $150,000 to a prospective recruit who wasn’t identified by name.
The complaint against Richardson further states that some of the $20,000 in bribe money alleged to have been paid to him appears to have gone to at least one prospective athlete to recruit him to play for the university.
It’s possible other issues may come to light — either in the university’s independent investigation or the ongoing FBI probe.
At the Sept. 26 news conference announcing the criminal charges, Joon Kim, acting U.S. attorney for southern New York, asked anyone with information about similar crimes to contact federal law enforcement.
Then he made a direct and unusual appeal to others who may have been involved in NCAA recruiting violations: “It’s better for you to call us than for us to be calling you when it’s time for charges.”
Arizona Board of Regents Chairman Bill Ridenour said in an interview with The Republic that all universities are going to have to take a hard look at their athletic programs in the wake of the FBI investigation. The FBI has signaled that it wants to change the way business is done at some of these schools, he said.
Ridenour said Arizona’s regents will await the results of an independent investigation by a law firm hired by the university. University officials have not said how long the review will take.
“Right now, from talking with the athletic director and (UA) President Robbins, they have the greatest confidence in Sean Miller, not only as a coach, but as an individual. He’s always run a clean program,” Ridenour said.
Working in Miller’s favor is his success on the court.
This culture goes back to former UA basketball coach Lute Olsen, whose teams appeared in 23 straight NCAA tournaments. He took the Wildcats to four Final Fours and won a national championship in 1997.
After Olson announced his retirement in October 2008, UA lured Miller from Xavier University in Cincinnati, where he was viewed as a rising talent. He’d led the team to four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances during his five seasons at the school, resulting in two Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight run.
Miller rebuilt Arizona’s program, earning Pac-10/12 Coach of the Year honors in 2011, 2014 and 2017.
The Wildcats finished 32-5 in the 201617 season, the fourth-best record in program history.
CBS Sports asked college basketball coaches for their pick for the best team in college basketball in August and Arizona Wildcats were No. 1.
Then, in late September, came criminal charges against 10 individuals, four of them assistant coaches, from the wide-ranging FBI investigation into the criminal influence of money on NCAA coaches and student athletes.
Post-basketball scandal, CBS Sports ranked Arizona No. 2, behind Duke, in early October.
Republic reporter Dennis Wagner contributed to this article.