Kansas' Bill Self says NCAA probe tarnished his rep 'immensely' - ESPN

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bill Self said the NCAA investigation that ended last week without additional penalties imposed on him or Kansas by the independent resolution panel still caused significant damage.

Kansas had been accused of using Adidas, its apparel sponsor, to steer recruits to Lawrence. The panel reduced KU's charges, tied to the FBI's bribery investigation of college basketball in 2017, and did not issue a postseason ban.

«I think my reputation has been tarnished immensely,» Self told ESPN at Big 12 media day in Kansas City. «But the whole thing is we knew right from the jump what we had done and what we had not done. The bottom line is I'm proud of how we conducted our business. At the end of the day, it was a long blip, but it was still a blip in the big scheme of things.»

As part of the FBI's bribery investigation into college basketball, the NCAA had initially accused Kansas of five Level I violations in 2019 for attempting to gain an illegal edge in recruiting via Adidas. Kansas self-imposed multiple penalties, including a pair of four-game suspensions for Self and assistant Kurtis Townsend last season, and multiple recruiting restrictions.

The IARP, an alternative to the traditional NCAA infractions process, reduced those five Level I violations, however, to Level II and Level III violations. The original Level I charge against Self, who had been accused of head coach responsibility violations, was reduced to a Level III charge. The school itself had been hit with a lack of institutional control charge but also avoided major penalties beyond probation for the program.

Also, as a result of the IARP's ruling, Kansas has to vacate its 2018 Final Four appearance and wins from that season because of Silvio De