Kansas spent more than $10M on outside legal fees defending NCAA infractions case

LAWRENCE, Kansas — When Kansas athletic director Travis Goff and men's basketball coach Bill Self first reacted to the end of the NCAA infractions case concerning Self’s program back in October, it was referred to as a good day for the university.

That good day, courtesy of an NCAA verdict that saw Kansas basketball hit with lighter penalties than many expected, came at a cost: more than $10 million in outside legal fees over the past five fiscal years, according to documents obtained through a public records request by The Topeka Capital-Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Four law firms were paid by KU for work on the school’s defense in the case, including $70,000 in fees paid during the current fiscal year. The $10 million is an estimate provided by KU’s public records office, backed by 1,575 pages of documents provided in response to the request.

"I think it was obviously pretty established by the time I got to KU, as to the approach and to the notion that we were going to – I don’t want to say spare no resources – but to an extent spare few resources to make sure we had all the right expertise and experience to help us navigate it," said Goff, who became athletic director in 2021. "Going from the NCAA infractions approach to the IARP, which was really an unprecedented process, I think warranted additional kind of layers from the legal team perspective."

'Spare no resources' to protect Kansas basketball

The IARP (Independent Accountability Resolution Process) was created to handle certain infractions cases that concerned Division I programs. It was involved in Kansas’ case, in addition to some others. Kansas' case had its origins in a federal investigation and included receiving a notice of allegations in 2019 from the NCAA that included an allegation of a KU player being given improper payments by someone associated with Adidas – which Kansas has been adamant it didn't know about, but didn't dispute.

The Topeka Capital-Journal’s public records request sought how much money was billed by four law firms that specialize in working with schools facing NCAA infractions cases. Those firms were Husch Blackwell (2020-23), Hogan Lovells (2020-23), Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC (2017-23) and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman (2019-23). According to the public records office, not all fees in the response were related to the NCAA matter, which led to the estimate.

Goff noted not all four firms were necessarily working on the NCAA matter at the same time. He said it became clear to him KU had the right people involved as he got a grasp on the situation. That came a handful of months into his tenure.

While Goff brought up he didn’t love the fact KU allocated so many resources to the situation, there was the belief at the school that it felt strongly about its position. Goff said KU wanted to protect the Kansas basketball brand, which won a national championship in 2022 amid the inquiry. According to a Louisville Courier Journal report from 2022, the University of Louisville Athletic Association also spent millions defending itself from its own NCAA allegations. Tennessee spent $1.5 million in fees to Bond, Schoeneck & King in its infraction case. Indiana, according to 2008 reports, spent nearly $500,000 in such fees when facing NCAA allegations of violations.

Legal fees similar to women's soccer budget

The NCAA financial statement for fiscal year 2022 for Kansas Athletics outlined an operating revenue of more than $118 million and expenses around $108.7 million – which would reflect a profit of $9.3 million. That would mean the amount spent on attorney fees in that fiscal year would equate to a bit more than 23% of the profit, and be similar to the almost $2.235 million that the total operating expenses were for the school’s women’s soccer program.

It outlines the extent to which Kansas was willing to go, considering the financial statement for fiscal year 2021 amid the pandemic included a deficiency of close to $2 million overall and total operating expenses for the women’s soccer program at just under $2 million. Goff, though, stopped short of comparing them one-to-one and alluded to the amount spent on legal fees being a small percentage of their overall budget each year.

"I think something like this is certainly unprecedented, something that in our situation has only happened once – we fully anticipate will only happen once," Goff said. "So, I do think it’s – there’s not really a comparator, necessarily, that you can consider.

"I mean, it’s significant any way you cut it. Even in the context of a $120 or $125 million budget. But, again, that’s what it’s taken in order to have all the right people at the table, the right expertise, experience, in order to make sure we navigated in the best manner possible, and that’s how it played out."

A renewed commitment to Bill Self

Kansas Athletics and Self also agreed to an amended and restated employment agreement that was revealed in November. It reinforced the trust Goff has expressed in Self's leadership of the program. It is a lifetime agreement that consists of a five-year rolling term, and according to a USA TODAY Sports report it will see Self make $9.44 million — including a $1 million signing bonus — for the current season.

Once the 2025-26 season ends, the contract states Self and Goff will meet to discuss Self's annual compensation. According to Self and Goff, the resolution of the NCAA infractions case had nothing to do with the timing of the announcement of the new deal.

"Proof’s in the pudding. I mean, literally we’re talking about the most consistent, most successful, coach in modern basketball," Goff said at the time. "And for a number of reasons, I didn’t feel like – and the chancellor didn’t feel like – his contract was necessarily reflective of that. And so, that’s what, to me, what this contract reflects. It reflects having the best coach in college basketball at the helm, and not necessarily ensuring, but maybe it’s viewed as cementing him to finish his career right here at Kansas."

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.