Kansas suspends Bill Self four games amid NCAA recruiting scandal

Kansas suspended men’s basketball head coach Bill Self following an FBI investigation into college basketball corruption.

The 2022-23 men’s college basketball season officially begins on Monday, Nov. 7. Ahead of the start of the season, the Kansas Jayhawks, the defending national champions, made a huge announcement.

Kansas has suspended head coach Bill Self and assistant coach Kurtis Townsend for the first four games of the season, stemming from an FBI investigation into college basketball corruption. Additionally, Kansas self-imposed recruiting restrictions as a result of the investigation.

“Coach Townsend and I accept and support KU’s decision to self-impose these sanctions,” Self said in Kansas’ official statement. “We are in good hands with Coach Roberts, and I am confident that he will do a great job on the bench leading our team. I am proud of the way our guys have handled this situation and I look forward to returning to the bench for our game against NC State.”

Bill Self, assistant coach Kurtis Townsend suspended four game by Kansas

The university received five Level I violations in the NCAA’s notice of allegations, where Self was charged with head coach responsibility violations. The violations stemmed from the school’s relationship with Adidas, where company reps were allegedly recruiting top players to the program.

Kansas announced additional sanctions that they had imposed on the men’s basketball program, via their statement:

"“The reduction of four official visits during this academic year and in 2023-24.“The reduction of three total scholarships in Men’s Basketball; to be distributed over the next three years.“The implementation of 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.“No official visits for 2022 Late Night in the Phog.”"

Self will miss the team’s games against Omaha (Nov. 7), North Dakota State (Nov. 10), Duke (Nov. 15), and Southern Utah (Nov. 18).

Assistant coach Norm Roberts will serve as the interim head coach in Self’s absence.