NCAA Halts Haith Investigation

The NCAA is halting its investigation of Mizzou Basketball’s head coach Frank Haith and is launching an external review of its enforcement program after it discovered the program obtained information improperly.In a press release, the NCAA says the enforcement program worked with the criminal defense attorney for Nevin Shapiro to “improperly obtain information” for the investigation through a bankruptcy proceeding that did not involve the NCAA.The association says since it does not have subpoena power, it does not have the authority to get testimony through procedures outside of its own enforcement program. The NCAA will not move forward with a notice of allegations involving the University of Miami and Mizzou’s Haith until the NCAA has all of its facts following an external review of its enforcement program. Miami President Donna Shalala has released a statement saying she is “frustrated, disappointed and concerned” that the NCAA’s investigation into the Hurricanes’ athletic department may have been compromised.The NCAA said Wednesday it has found “a very severe issue of improper conduct” committed by former members of its own enforcement program during the Miami investigation, and will not deliver the long-awaited notice of allegations against the Hurricanes until an external review is completed.Shalala says Miami will continue to work with the NCAA and hopes for “a swift resolution.”NCAA President Mark Emmert says former enforcement staff members worked with the criminal defense attorney for former Miami booster and convicted Ponzi scheme architect Nevin Shapiro “to improperly obtain information … through a bankruptcy proceeding that did not involve the NCAA.”The announcement was an embarrassing one for the NCAA, which has faced sharp criticism and has since been sued over the $60 million in sanctions it levied against Penn State in the Jerry Sandusky scandal. It is also facing more than a half-dozen other lawsuits, including one in which a judge said NCAA investigators were “over the top” during the benefits case surrounding former Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush.President Emmert says some of the people involved are no longer working for the NCAA.