The NCAA completely erred in how it treated Rick Pitino

— -- The NCAA has finally provided Louisville with a notice of allegations (NOA), the charging document in the NCAA's Byzantine system of justice. In a thorough reading of the NOA, it is crystal clear where the NCAA got it right, and got it wrong.

The NCAA leveled four separate charges in its NOA: ?

• Former assistant coach Andre McGee arranged for impermissible benefits for Louisville athletes and recruits.
• McGee engaged in unethical conduct in arranging for such impermissible benefits and failing to cooperate with the NCAA.
• Former assistant coach Brandon Williams engaged in unethical conduct by failing to furnish his phone records.
• Head coach Rick Pitino is presumed responsible for McGee's violations and is presumed to have failed to monitor McGee.

That's it. Two charges against McGee, one charge against Williams and one charge against Pitino. There was not a single charge against the University of Louisville. Not one.

And, for the most part, the NCAA got it right on this.

What is clear from the NOA, the NCAA does not have any credible evidence that Pitino knew or reasonably should have known of McGee's improper actions. If the NCAA had any such evidence, Pitino would have been charged with "failure to promote an atmosphere of compliance and unethical conduct" and Louisville would have been charged with "lack of institutional control and failure to monitor its athletic programs."

None of those charges were brought. If the NCAA had even a scintilla of evidence that Pitino knew or reasonably should have known, it absolutely would have brought those charges against Pitino and Louisville.

Here is where the NCAA investigation and charges got it right, in my judgment. McGee's acts, as detailed in allegation No. 1 of the NOA, were so outrageous and so far outside of the normal course of a coach's duties that they were unimaginable. It is unreasonable to expect that Louisville or Pitino should have known or should have imagined that any employee would take such contemptible actions so far outside of the scope of his duties. This was not conduct in the normal course of business for an athletic program. In this case, for the most part, the NCAA placed blame where there was actual culpability, at the feet of McGee. It is really not that difficult for blame to be placed at the feet of those that violated rules, and at the feet of those that reasonably should have known.

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Clearly, the NCAA investigation determined that Pitino runs a clean program and pays sufficient attention to compliance. Otherwise, Pitino would have been charged with "failure to promote an atmosphere of compliance", a charge the NCAA levels with regularity in other cases.

For the same reasons that Pitino could not reasonably have known, Louisville could not have reasonably had institutional knowledge. There was no legitimate reason to charge Louisville with "failure to monitor or lack of institutional control."

Here is where the NCAA investigation and charges got it wrong, in my judgment. If there was no credible evidence that Pitino knew or reasonably should have known about McGee's outrageous actions, Pitino should not have been charged with anything at all. If the NCAA did not have evidence to charge Pitino with "failure to promote an atmosphere of compliance and/or unethical conduct," it is clear to me that there was no credible evidence of "red flags," and that Pitino rebutted the presumption that he should be responsible for McGee's actions.

The idea that McGee's conduct could have been discovered, discouraged or stopped by (as the NOA suggests) frequent spot-checks, actively looking for red flags or asking pointed questions to determine if monitoring systems were functioning properly regarding McGee activities is absolutely ludicrous. To suggest with a straight face that a head coach should be expected to frequently spot-check player living quarters to make certain there is no illicit sexual activity is about as reasonable as suggesting head coaches should conduct frequent cavity searches to make certain that players and/or coaches are not illegally smuggling military secrets to foreign agents in violation of the Espionage Act of 1917.

Similarly, it is equally absurd and unreasonable to expect any head coach to regularly interrogate his assistant coaches on whether they are violating state and/or federal laws in violating NCAA rules. Clearly, the NCAA believes Pitino is able to craft penetrating questions to reach a Perry Mason moment where McGee would break down and confess. Lastly, there were no "red flags" for Pitino to look for or "evaluate." If there were, Pitino would have been charged with more, instead of just "failure to monitor" McGee.

Where the NCAA fell down, again, is in the horrible inconsistency of its investigations, charges and sanctions. While the Louisville NOA is within the bounds of reason, charges brought in other cases clearly reflect that the NCAA overcharged and improperly sanctioned other coaches and institutions. Most notably, the charges brought against the Syracuse Orange and Jim Boeheim were clearly unreasonable, especially when examined in light of the Louisville NOA.

After an eight-year investigation that turned up relatively little in the way of major, substantive violations, Syracuse was charged with "lack of institutional control" and Boeheim was charged with "failure to monitor and failure to promote an atmosphere of compliance." Syracuse was stripped of 101 wins, and Boeheim was suspended for nine games last season. The suspension was for the first nine ACC games, which was nonsensical and petty. On appeal, it was determined that the suspension for ACC games was an abuse of discretion by the committee on infractions, but the appeal was not decided until the season was well underway. Syracuse and Boeheim were mistreated by the NCAA. It is a good thing that Louisville was not similarly mistreated, but it underscores the inconsistency of the NCAA. When examining the charges in the SMU and UConn cases, one cannot help but reach the same conclusion: The NCAA isn't always wrong in its enforcement decisions. But, it is wrong far too often, and that is unacceptable.

Finally, it is equally clear that the NCAA's Rube Goldberg system of justice is a sad and sorry joke, and it is a continual embarrassment that does little more than publicly shame far too many good people. It is untrustworthy, horribly inconsistent, and simply unfair. It is past time for change.