Miami Notice of Allegations “Imminent”
The Miami herald is reporting that the delivery of the NCAA’s formal Notice of Allegations against Miami is imminent, according to sources close to the case. This comes on the heels of an Associated Press report that the NCAA will discuss specific violations with individuals involved in the case on Monday. There is so much smoke around the Miami case right now that Miami receiving their Notice of Allegation later than the end of this week would seem like an upset.
That would set in motion a timeline, the “beginning of the end” as both articles have called receiving the notice. Miami has 90 days to respond to the allegations, followed by a hearing date that will be scheduled as part of the Notice of Allegations. That puts Miami’s response due sometime around mid-April, with a hearing date in June most likely. After the hearing, the Committee on Infractions tries to release the public report within six weeks, but often takes longer. Given the complexity of the Miami case and the attention it has attracted, two months is probably a minimum. August or September seem more likely than not.
Such a timeline assumes no further delays though. Miami could request an extension for their response. The Committee on Infractions schedule could push the hearing date to August, also possible if Miami requests an extension. Once the hearing is over, the Committee on Infractions could have new allegations or more questions, although this is rare. Or writing the public report could take longer than expected.
If Miami were to appeal any findings or penalties, that appeal would not be heard and the report released until 2014 at the earliest. Given Miami’s self-imposed postseason bans and apparent excellent cooperation, an appeal seems unlikely unless the Committee on Infractions imposed scholarship reductions worse than USC’s or added another postseason ban.
Finally, this more or less assures that the Oregon case will be with us for some time. Even if the NCAA delivered Oregon’s Notice of Allegations immediately following Miami’s, that would still be mid-to-late April before Oregon’s response is due. It is unlikely that given the size and import of the Miami case, the Committee on Infractions would attempt to squeeze in the also-important Oregon case on the same weekend. At this point, August looks like the earliest possible date for Oregon’s hearing, with the report delivered in October at the very earliest.
Given the history of Oregon’s case, specifically the failed attempt to come to a summary disposition agreement that satisfied the Committee on Infractions, an appeal of all penalties and/or the findings themselves seems more likely. That would mean any sort of definitive resolution in the Oregon case would not come until 2014.
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