Seton Hall basketball: NCAA imposes penalties for transfer tampering The penalties go beyond Kevin Willard's two-game suspension, which he already served, and pinpoint the actions of former assistant Shaheen Holloway.

Jerry Carino | Asbury Park Press

Kevin Willard’s suspension for transfer tampering is in the rearview mirror, but additional penalties for his Seton Hall basketball program came into view Friday.

The NCAA announced it is imposing a scholarship reduction and a fine on the Pirates after concluding that former associate head coach Shaheen Holloway tampered in the transfer of forward Taurean Thompson from Syracuse to Seton Hall in 2017.

The proof of the infraction, as cited in the NCAA's report: Holloway and Thompson's mother spoke via phone 154 times without Syracuse's permission, then 87 more times after Syracuse denied Thompson's request to transfer. Also according to the report: Willard learned of the calls, did not confirm whether they were permissible, report them to his compliance officer or ensure they ended.

The Pirates will lose one scholarship for the 2020-21 season, dropping from 13 to 12. That leaves them with no openings for additional players at the moment, though that likely will change in the spring given the sport’s increasingly transfer-happy offseason.

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In terms of monetary punishment, Seton Hall is fined $5,000 plus 1 percent of its men’s basketball budget. The Pirates also have been placed on probation for three years and Willard is banned from recruiting for two weeks in 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Willard agreed to serve a suspension for the Hall’s preseason game against Misericordia and regular-season opener against Wagner, part of a negotiated resolution with the NCAA that is now certified as final.

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“Seton Hall University, in conjunction with the NCAA, recently concluded a review of an infraction within our men’s basketball program," Seton Hall's athletics department said in a statement. "Our department was proactive in our review and fully cooperated with the NCAA enforcement staff. While the violation was inadvertent, it was nonetheless against NCAA bylaws, and for that we take full responsibility. Seton Hall is and always will be committed to a culture of compliance, and we will continue to work diligently to ensure it.”

Holloway, now the head coach at Saint Peter’s University, is in the midst of serving a four-game suspension for his role in the tampering. That also was a negotiated resolution with the NCAA and is now considered final. In addition, he is prohibited from recruiting for six weeks during the 2019-20 school year.

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"Coach Holloway fully cooperated with the NCAA enforcement staff and while the violation was inadvertent, it was nonetheless contrary to NCAA bylaws," Saint Peter's athletics department said in a statement. "Saint Peter’s University and Coach Holloway are committed to a culture of integrity and rules compliance and will continue to work diligently to ensure it.

Here is the full text of the NCAA's press release on the matter:

A former Seton Hall associate head men’s basketball coach had impermissible phone contacts with a prospect’s mother, according to an agreement released by the Division I Committee on Infractions. The head men’s basketball coach did not promote an atmosphere of compliance within his program because he did not take adequate steps to report or stop the calls when he found out about them.

The university, the former associate head coach and NCAA enforcement staff agreed that while the men’s basketball prospect was enrolled at a different university, the former associate head coach and the prospect’s mother had 154 phone calls without written permission from the prospect’s athletics director at the time.

After the prospect informed his original university of his intent to transfer and requested permission to contact Seton Hall, the university denied the request. The former associate head coach learned the request was denied, but still had 87 impermissible calls with the prospect’s mother.

According to the agreement, the former associate head coach said he did not report the calls with the prospect’s mother because they involved a personal relationship outside of the prospect and basketball, and he believed the communications were permissible.

The head men’s basketball coach said he was aware of certain conversations between the former associate head coach and the prospect’s mother while the student-athlete was enrolled at his original university. The university, head coach and enforcement staff agreed that the head coach did not report the calls to compliance or confirm whether they were permissible. The head coach also did not ensure the conversations between the two ended.

This case was processed through the new negotiated resolution process. The process was used instead of a formal hearing or summary disposition because the university, the head coach, the former associate head coach and the enforcement staff agreed on the violations and the penalties. The Division I Committee on Infractions reviewed the case to determine whether the resolution was in the best interests of the Association and whether the agreed-upon penalties were reasonable. Negotiated resolutions may not be appealed and do not set case precedent for other infractions cases.

The university and the enforcement staff used ranges identified by the Division I membership-approved infractions penalty guidelines to agree upon Level II-standard penalties for the university, head coach and former associate head coach. Those and other penalties, approved by the Committee on Infractions, are detailed below:

A $5,000 fine plus 1% of the men’s basketball budget.

A reduction of men’s basketball scholarships by one during the 2020-21 academic year.

A two-game suspension for the head coach during the 2019-20 season.

The head coach must attend an NCAA Regional Rules Seminar in 2020.

A two-week ban on recruiting communication during each of the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.

Three years of probation.

A 20-month show-cause order for the former associate head coach. As part of the show-cause order, he is suspended from four games during the 2019-20 academic year and prohibited from all recruiting communication for six weeks during the 2019-20 academic year. He also is required to attend an NCAA Regional Rules Seminar in 2020 and 2021.

Thompson, who hails from New York City and attended St. Anthony High School among other schools, chose Syracuse over Seton Hall late in the recruiting process. Holloway was Seton Hall’s lead recruiter for him.

During his one season with the Orange, the 6-foot-10-inch forward averaged 9.2 points in 18 minutes per game, and he was expected to be a central piece to their 2017-18 squad. But Thompson didn’t report to campus for the first day of classes on Aug. 28, 2017. A few days later he was enrolled at Seton Hall.

Thompson sat out the 2017-18 season per NCAA transfer rules, then averaged 4.6 points and 2.3 rebounds in 10 minutes per game last winter. The junior is buried on the depth chart and hasn’t played through three games this season for the 12th-ranked Pirates (2-1).

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q. Can Seton Hall appeal?

A. No, because this punishment was negotiated by Seton Hall and the NCAA. Seton Hall admitted guilt and what you’re seeing is the deal the school worked out with the governing body.

Q. What is probation?

A. It means Seton Hall must issue reports to the NCAA detailing their future compliance efforts, and that any further infractions during this period could result in extended probation or more severe penalties.

Q. Is transfer tampering common?

A. Yes. It's believed to be widespread but generally goes unpunished because aggrieved parties decline to pursue charges, either due to of lack of evidence or the fact that it is so pervasive.

Q. Is this why Taurean Thompson isn’t playing?

A. There is no mention of Thompson’s current eligibility in the report and no evidence that it's under the NCAA’s microscope. His lack of playing time appears to be for basketball reasons; he didn’t make Willard’s 10-man rotation because of his struggles on defense.

Q. Why did Seton Hall and Saint Peter’s, in their statements, use the word “inadvertent” to describe the infraction?

A. Their claim, as detailed in the NCAA’s report, is that Holloway said didn’t know he was breaking the rules because of his close personal relationship with Thompson’s mother — one that he portrayed to investigators as going beyond basketball and recruiting.

Q. Why didn’t Seton Hall fight this like the schools prominently mentioned in the FBI’s recruiting corruption trial?

A. Seton Hall (and Saint Peter’s) chose to cooperate, unlike the high-profile schools that have steadfastly denied wrongdoing in the sneaker-company recruiting scandal. Despite popular opinion, those schools have not “gotten away” with anything yet; the NCAA could come down hard on them, and probably will. In Seton Hall’s case, given the evidence, cooperation minimized the risk of potentially further damage during what could be a special 2019-20 season.

Q. What will be the long-term fallout?

A. Beyond the negative optics, Holloway’s 20-month show-cause could deter another school from hiring him during that span, although his position certainly is safe at Saint Peter’s. The loss of scholarship for Seton Hall is significant for the next recruiting cycle, but attrition likely will clear room for at least one more player. The most tangible long-term implication? It’s highly doubtful Seton Hall and Syracuse will schedule a game against each other — in any sport — for the foreseeable future.

Inside St. Peter's locker room after Shaheen Holloway's 1st win Take a look at the postgame celebration and speech after the Saint Peter's basketball team beat Lafayette in Shaheen Holloway's head-coaching debut.

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.