Dick Weiss on College Basketball

Notre Dame coach Mike Brey, the president of the NABC Coaches’ Board of Directors, challenged schools to be more aggressive about firing coaches about firing coaches for cause if they violate NCAA or school rules.

“Why don’t Athletic Directors and presidents drop the hammer?’’ Brey said while appearing as a panelist before a meeting of the Knight commission on Intercollegiate Athletics.

Sounds like a good idea.

But first the NCAA would have to identify the culprits and prove the crime. Schools face the possibility of being sued by coaches who face the termination of million-dollar contracts with no further pay. “WE need an explosion back,’’ Brey said. “There’s no hammer from the top of campus.’’

Brey’s comments come in the wake of the college basketball corruption trial that results in criminal prosecutions and the dismissals of some assistant coaches. But other than Rick Pitino, the Hall of Fame coach who is suing Louisville for $40 million after he was fired, no head coach has lost his job over the scandal. LSU’s Will Wade lost pay and bonus money and both he and Sean Miller have agreed to adjustments in their contract terms after allegations about their programs.