After a second University of Arizona assistant men’s basketball coach was reportedly fired for an NCAA recruiting violation, the school’s athletic director is standing by head Coach Sean Miller and the program.
Athletic Director Dave Heeke spoke publicly during halftime of the men’s game on Saturday night, telling the Arizona Daily Star that any allegations of wrongdoing against the program and its coaches are false.
"I want to be very, very clear about it," Heeke said. "We support this basketball program, we support these players, we support this coaching staff. We support Coach Miller and his leadership of this program."
U of A fired assistant coach Mark Phelps last week, a decision backed by the state’s Board of Regents.
In a statement released by the university, officials said Phelps’ firing is not related to an FBI investigation into players receiving illegal payments, which former Wildcat assistant coach Book Richardson pled guilty to earlier this year.
