Oklahoma Acknowledges NCAA Violations

Oklahoma acknowledged it violated NCAA rules about telephoning recruits but is asking the organization to stop short of citing the school for “lack of institutional control,” which could lead the Sooners to be banned from postseason play.

In a 194-page response to allegations of NCAA violations obtained by the Associated Press, the university lays out a multifaceted argument against a finding of “lack of institutional control.”

The response, requested by the NCAA, includes the university’s explanation of the circumstances that led to more than 550 impermissible telephone contacts with at least 17 recruits by men’s basketball Coach Kelvin Sampson and three assistant coaches between April 2000 and September 2004.

The university suggests that a lesser “failure in monitoring” finding would be more appropriate than an institutional control finding, which would suggest that Oklahoma’s administration was not committed to complying with NCAA rules.

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Ohio State is expected to escape a postseason ban when the NCAA discloses penalties against the men’s program this morning, according to the Columbus Dispatch. The newspaper said a university source who spoke on condition of anonymity “anticipates good news” from the NCAA.

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Kansas State fired Jim Wooldridge as coach shortly after the Wildcats (15-13) lost to Texas Tech in the Big 12 tournament Wednesday.

Athletic Director Tim Weiser said Wooldridge needed to get the team into the NCAA tournament to keep his job.