Kansas men’s basketball, the defending national champion, will begin the 2022-23 season without coach Bill Self, the program announced on Wednesday.
Self and assistant coach Kurtis Townsend will each serve a four-game suspension to begin the season.
Jeff Goodman of Stadium was the first to break the news.
According to Goodman, the self-imposed sanctions stem from the 2017 NCAA investigation into the Jayhawks program.
The NCAA accused Self and Townsend of “embracing, welcoming, and encouraging” representatives of Adidas, KU’s long-time apparel partner, to recruit players on the program’s behalf, an effort that allegedly involved improper benefits.
Norm Roberts, a former St. John’s coach and a Self assistant since 2012, will serve as interim head coach during the suspension.
Kansas will open the regular season at home against Omaha on Nov. 7.
Self will also miss a game against North Dakota State on November 10, a big neutral-site matchup with Duke in Indianapolis on November 15, and a final home game against Southern Utah on November 18.
The two coaches are scheduled to return for the Battle 4 Atlantis opener against NC State on November 23 in the Bahamas.
In a statement, Self said, “Coach Townsend and I accept and support KU’s decision to self-impose these sanctions.”
“We are in good hands with Coach Roberts, and I am confident that he will do an excellent job leading our team from the bench.”
I’m proud of how our guys handled the situation, and I’m looking forward to getting back on the bench for our game against NC State.”
The NCAA issued Kansas its initial notice of allegations in September 2019.
The NCAA has charged the program with five Level I infractions, the most serious level, as well as a charge of head coach responsibility and a lack of institutional control.
Self and Townsend were both pulled from the recruiting trail between April and July of this year, as the NCAA continued its lengthy investigation into the Jayhawks program.
That absence was also mentioned in Kansas’ self-discipline announcement.
As part of its self-imposed sanction, Kansas has reduced the number of official visits to four during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 academic years.
The team will lose three scholarships over the next three seasons and will be subjected to a “six-week ban on recruiting communications, a six-week ban on unofficial visits, and a thirteen-day reduction in the number of permissible recruiting days during the 2022-23 calendar year.”
During the 2022 Late Night in the Phog event, the program also declined to host official visitors.
“We are hopeful that these difficult self-imposed sanctions will aid in the resolution of the case,” Kansas athletic director Travis Goff said.
“In the meantime, we will continue to support our outstanding Men’s Basketball student-athletes and coaches.”
Norm Roberts, an assistant coach, will serve as interim head coach for the first four games.
We are unable to comment in depth until this matter has been fully resolved due to confidentiality guidelines related to infraction cases.”
Douglas A. Girod, school chancellor, added that the university has “unwavering support” for Self and the Jayhawks program, and that he hopes the self-imposed sanctions will “move us closer to resolving this matter.”