NCAA Punishes UCLA Assistant Adrian Klemm For Recruiting Violations

The NCAA punished Adrian Klemm Friday morning with a two-year show-cause order. According to an article on the NCAA website, Klemm "admitted to paying $2,400 for housing and private training sessions on behalf of the two prospects, but he was not aware that it violated NCAA rules. While the school and coach stated that he received ample rules education, the panel noted that the coach incorrectly believed it was permissible to pay for the training because he believed the two prospects signed National Letters of Intent. The coach violated NCAA ethical conduct rules because he should have known that his arrangement would not be allowed."

Meanwhile, USA Today's Dan Wolken writes:

The NCAA characterized the violations as Level II, which is the second-most serious in the new four-tiered system, aggravated by "blatant disregard for the NCAA constitution and bylaws."

According to Section 3.1 of Klemm's deal, UCLA has the right to fire Klemm for repeated violations of NCAA rules.

Meanwhile, Jon Solomon of CBSSports.com explains how the violations came to light initially. He writes:

According to the NCAA, the investigation into Klemm started when his ex-girlfriend e-mailed the NCAA Eligibility Center alleging knowledge of potential violations. She recanted the information four days later. The NCAA said it only started investigating after receiving an anonymous email with the same information three months later.

As a result of the investigation, Klemm now is under a show-cause order until Sept. 15, 2018.

Solomon reports:

That means for UCLA or any school to employ him, it must appear before the Committee on Infractions and show why his restrictions shouldn't apply while offering a plan for overseeing his activities.

A UCLA spokesman said the university resolved that issue by submitting an oversight plan and no further action is needed. If Klemm left during the two-year show-cause window and was hired by another school, that school would need to go before the committee. UCLA confirmed that Klemm remains on the staff.

After looking at the details, discussing the situation with other writers, and considering Klemm's ban last fall, I'm not sure if this is really as bad as it seems. On the surface, there are the distraction issues that something of this nature can cause, especially for an away game in a location that has historically given the Bruins trouble. But when looking further, it almost seemed like the offensive line played better last year when he was suspended. The senior leadership stepped and took on a coaching/mentoring role and got the front five through what many would characterize as a tough time.

Since Klemm has not proven himself as a top-tier Division 1 position coach and now UCLA has to spend extra effort and time making sure every move Klemm makes is in line with NCAA regulations, is it worth keeping him? Should the money be spent on getting someone else that can manage themselves in an ethical format and also coach at a higher level? I tend to think UCLA needs to cut ties with Klemm. He's a proven recruiter but only a mediocre coach.

Send good thoughts to our offensive line and hope this distraction will not take away from their performance Saturday.