News Taffy

The July 21 issue of the Jonesboro Sun contained an articleregarding Jay-R Strowbridge, a men's basketball transfer student-athletewho decided to withdraw from Arkansas State. The statements attributedto Strowbridge regarding a conversation with Dean Lee, Director ofAthletics, are not accurate and ASU believes it is necessary to correctthis misinformation.

"While it is true that the NCAA has an ongoing investigationinvolving men's basketball and other programs," Lee said, "thepossibility of a postseason ban has never been suggested.""Based on the nature of the violations and our understanding ofNCAA case precedent, we would not anticipate a postseason ban," Leecontinued. "I did not and would not have told Jay-R that there was ahigh possibility of a postseason ban because there is not.

This wasconfirmed by Jay-R's comments on the Rob and Rod show which aired on103.9 FM this morning."The matters currently under investigation occurred before headmen's basketball coach John Brady and his staff were hired at ASU."All of our student-athletes should feel confident that theircareers at ASU are not at risk due to the failures of the past.

Upondiscovering those failures, ASU promptly took corrective actions andself-reported violations to the NCAA. While we certainly will havepenalties related to the current investigation, we do not believe thosepenalties will affect eligibility for postseason play in basketball orany other sport," Lee concluded.