The NCAA’s committee on infractions announced Tuesday that Creighton will face scholarship reductions, recruiting restrictions and two years probation because of an ethical-conduct violation by former Bluejay assistant Preston Murphy.
The NCAA panel also ruled that CU will pay a $5,000 fine plus 1% of the men's basketball program's budget.
Murphy’s breach of NCAA bylaws, a Level I infraction, was the first major NCAA rules violation in any sport for Creighton. The absence of an infractions history is rare, according to the NCAA, and influenced the committee's ruling on penalties.
The Jays avoided a postseason ban — one possible penalty for a Level I infraction.
But Murphy, who resigned in 2019, was given a two-year show-cause order, which places restrictions on an NCAA school if it were to hire him during that time.
Athletic Director Bruce Rasmussen committed a Level II violation for failing to report the potential violation by Murphy. Rasmussen first learned of the incident in late October 2018, but did not tell CU compliance officials until March 2019.
In a teleconference Tuesday, the NCAA's chief hearing officer for the case said based on Rasmussen's reputation and experience, he acted unreasonably by not immediately reporting what he learned.
In a statement Tuesday, Rasmussen said: "I thank the NCAA for their thorough investigation. We are anxious to move forward knowing that the series of reforms we have made to our policies and procedures within the Department of Athletics at Creighton ensure ongoing adherence and compliance with the NCAA's high ethical standards."
Creighton coach Greg McDermott said in a tweet: "The thorough review of our case by the NCAA was much appreciated. Having this behind us provides an opportunity to move forward with no direct impact on our current or future student-athletes."
Tuesday's announcement from the infractions committee marked the end of an investigation into Creighton's program that began in 2018.
“The violations largely stem from individuals permitting personal relationships to cloud their judgment and influence their decision-making," the NCAA committee said in a press release. "Specifically, the assistant coach prioritized loyalty to his friend, the agent associate; and the athletics director looked past alarming conduct based on his trust in the assistant coach.”
Creighton
It was in 2017 when the FBI revealed it uncovered a major bribery scandal in college basketball.
But there were no alleged NCAA rules violations made public with Creighton's program until the court hearings began 13 months later.
In October 2018, the father of a recruit testified that Murphy had an agreement in place with an aspiring agent to pay $100,000 to the family in exchange for a commitment. Murphy denied that claim during a subsequent meeting with Creighton compliance officials. But that public revelation prompted the NCAA's initial records request, sent Dec. 14, 2018, in regard to a possible rules violation.
But the crux of the NCAA's report Tuesday centered on Murphy's 2017 meeting in a hotel room with would-be agent Christian Dawkins and two financial backers. Murphy and Dawkins had a previous friendship.
The meeting was being secretly recorded by a government agent and FBI informant posing as the financial backers.
It was there that Murphy received $6,000 in cash. A March 2019 indictment described the exchange as a bribe, but Murphy was not charged with a crime. According to the NCAA's Tuesday report, Murphy admitted to accepting the money but he said he returned it to Dawkins in a casino bathroom. Dawkins confirmed that in his 2019 federal testimony.
Murphy never publicly commented on the case.
The NCAA infractions panel determined that Murphy's actions violated an unethical conduct bylaw. Its report stated that while Murphy denied keeping the money and denied that he ever planned to influence players, the committee determined that Murphy "ignored repeated red flags and demonstrated a recurring lack of judgment."
According to the report, the committee's stance was that because Murphy accepted the $6,000 — and because there was "no information in the record that either proves or disproves his claim" that the money was returned — he'd effectively agreed to steer Creighton players to Dawkins' future management company.
Murphy, originally hired by Creighton in 2015, resigned in November 2019 after spending eight months on administrative leave.
The specific penalties levied on CU's program:
» Two years of probation.
» A $5,000 fine plus 1% of the men’s basketball program budget.
» A reduction of men’s basketball scholarships by one per year for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 academic years (self-imposed by the university).
» A reduction of men’s basketball official visits by six during the 2021-22/2022-23 rolling two-year period (self-imposed by the university).
» A reduction in the number of men’s basketball recruiting person days by 10% from the previous four-year average for the two-year probationary period (self-imposed by the university).
» The university will prohibit complimentary admission to home games for all prospects and coaches in November 2021 (self-imposed by the university).
» A two-year show-cause order for the former assistant coach. During that period, any NCAA member school employing him must restrict him from any athletically related duties unless it shows cause why the restrictions should not apply.
Creighton released a statement Tuesday afternoon responding to the penalties:
"Creighton University remains committed to compliance throughout the University, including in our Department of Athletics. For nearly three years, Creighton has worked proactively and cooperatively with the NCAA enforcement staff and Committee on Infractions on a review of the actions of former assistant men's basketball coach Preston Murphy, who was placed on leave in March 2019, and resigned from Creighton in November 2019.
"We appreciate the NCAA's Committee on Infractions' comprehensive and thorough review of the case and accept their finding of Level I-Mitigated violation against the University. It is noteworthy that within the public infractions report, the committee stated, 'that in the 100-year history of Creighton's participation in Division I athletics, this is Creighton's first Level I, Level II or major infractions case. As it relates to institutions, the absence of an infractions history is rare. As such, the panel affords significant weigh tot his (mitigating factor.'
"There is no postseason penalty imposed on the men's basketball program, and none of our current or future student-athletes will be impacted. We have used this as an opportunity for self-reflection, assessment and improvement.
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The NCAA panel also ruled that CU will pay a $5,000 fine plus 1% of the men's basketball program's budget.
Murphy’s breach of NCAA bylaws, a Level I infraction, was the first major NCAA rules violation in any sport for Creighton. The absence of an infractions history is rare, according to the NCAA, and influenced the committee's ruling on penalties.
The Jays avoided a postseason ban — one possible penalty for a Level I infraction.
But Murphy, who resigned in 2019, was given a two-year show-cause order, which places restrictions on an NCAA school if it were to hire him during that time.
Athletic Director Bruce Rasmussen committed a Level II violation for failing to report the potential violation by Murphy. Rasmussen first learned of the incident in late October 2018, but did not tell CU compliance officials until March 2019.
In a teleconference Tuesday, the NCAA's chief hearing officer for the case said based on Rasmussen's reputation and experience, he acted unreasonably by not immediately reporting what he learned.
In a statement Tuesday, Rasmussen said: "I thank the NCAA for their thorough investigation. We are anxious to move forward knowing that the series of reforms we have made to our policies and procedures within the Department of Athletics at Creighton ensure ongoing adherence and compliance with the NCAA's high ethical standards."
Creighton coach Greg McDermott said in a tweet: "The thorough review of our case by the NCAA was much appreciated. Having this behind us provides an opportunity to move forward with no direct impact on our current or future student-athletes."
Tuesday's announcement from the infractions committee marked the end of an investigation into Creighton's program that began in 2018.
“The violations largely stem from individuals permitting personal relationships to cloud their judgment and influence their decision-making," the NCAA committee said in a press release. "Specifically, the assistant coach prioritized loyalty to his friend, the agent associate; and the athletics director looked past alarming conduct based on his trust in the assistant coach.”
Creighton
Read the NCAA's complete report on Creighton's rules violations
- From staff reports
It was in 2017 when the FBI revealed it uncovered a major bribery scandal in college basketball.
But there were no alleged NCAA rules violations made public with Creighton's program until the court hearings began 13 months later.
In October 2018, the father of a recruit testified that Murphy had an agreement in place with an aspiring agent to pay $100,000 to the family in exchange for a commitment. Murphy denied that claim during a subsequent meeting with Creighton compliance officials. But that public revelation prompted the NCAA's initial records request, sent Dec. 14, 2018, in regard to a possible rules violation.
But the crux of the NCAA's report Tuesday centered on Murphy's 2017 meeting in a hotel room with would-be agent Christian Dawkins and two financial backers. Murphy and Dawkins had a previous friendship.
The meeting was being secretly recorded by a government agent and FBI informant posing as the financial backers.
It was there that Murphy received $6,000 in cash. A March 2019 indictment described the exchange as a bribe, but Murphy was not charged with a crime. According to the NCAA's Tuesday report, Murphy admitted to accepting the money but he said he returned it to Dawkins in a casino bathroom. Dawkins confirmed that in his 2019 federal testimony.
Murphy never publicly commented on the case.
The NCAA infractions panel determined that Murphy's actions violated an unethical conduct bylaw. Its report stated that while Murphy denied keeping the money and denied that he ever planned to influence players, the committee determined that Murphy "ignored repeated red flags and demonstrated a recurring lack of judgment."
According to the report, the committee's stance was that because Murphy accepted the $6,000 — and because there was "no information in the record that either proves or disproves his claim" that the money was returned — he'd effectively agreed to steer Creighton players to Dawkins' future management company.
Murphy, originally hired by Creighton in 2015, resigned in November 2019 after spending eight months on administrative leave.
The specific penalties levied on CU's program:
» Two years of probation.
» A $5,000 fine plus 1% of the men’s basketball program budget.
» A reduction of men’s basketball scholarships by one per year for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 academic years (self-imposed by the university).
» A reduction of men’s basketball official visits by six during the 2021-22/2022-23 rolling two-year period (self-imposed by the university).
» A reduction in the number of men’s basketball recruiting person days by 10% from the previous four-year average for the two-year probationary period (self-imposed by the university).
» The university will prohibit complimentary admission to home games for all prospects and coaches in November 2021 (self-imposed by the university).
» A two-year show-cause order for the former assistant coach. During that period, any NCAA member school employing him must restrict him from any athletically related duties unless it shows cause why the restrictions should not apply.
Creighton released a statement Tuesday afternoon responding to the penalties:
"Creighton University remains committed to compliance throughout the University, including in our Department of Athletics. For nearly three years, Creighton has worked proactively and cooperatively with the NCAA enforcement staff and Committee on Infractions on a review of the actions of former assistant men's basketball coach Preston Murphy, who was placed on leave in March 2019, and resigned from Creighton in November 2019.
"We appreciate the NCAA's Committee on Infractions' comprehensive and thorough review of the case and accept their finding of Level I-Mitigated violation against the University. It is noteworthy that within the public infractions report, the committee stated, 'that in the 100-year history of Creighton's participation in Division I athletics, this is Creighton's first Level I, Level II or major infractions case. As it relates to institutions, the absence of an infractions history is rare. As such, the panel affords significant weigh tot his (mitigating factor.'
"There is no postseason penalty imposed on the men's basketball program, and none of our current or future student-athletes will be impacted. We have used this as an opportunity for self-reflection, assessment and improvement.
Creighton basketball receives NCAA penalties for violation by former assistant
The NCAA announced Tuesday that Creighton will face scholarship reductions, recruiting restrictions and two years probation because of an ethical-conduct violation by former Bluejay assistant Preston Murphy.
