TUCSON, AZ — University of Arizona's president is standing behind head coach Sean Miller on the same day a jury handed down a guilty verdict in a federal "pay to play" trial with ties to the school's basketball program.
On Wednesday, aspiring sports agent Christian Dawkins was found guilty of bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery, as well as former Adidas consultant Merl Code guilty of conspiracy to commit bribery. The pair was accused of paying off college coaches, including UA's former assistant basketball coach Emanuel "Book" Richardson, who pleaded guilty in the case earlier this year.
During the trial, allegations again surfaced that Miller had paid elite players, but he has never been charged in the case.
RELATED: Former UA assistant Book Richardson says Sean Miller paid Deandre Ayton $10K a month, ESPN reports
ABC15 spoke with UA's president, Dr. Robert Robbins, on Wednesday morning. Robbins told us he has talked with Miller and the coach is "in a good place."
Robbins went on to say that Miller has done a great job in his decade as coach and the university is looking forward to next year's recruiting class.
His comments come amid reports that the NCAA has launched a new investigation into the Wildcats. The school has since called those reports "completely false."
Robbins says, at this point at least, there will be no coaching changes to the team.
"Sean's our coach and we look forward to continuing to participate and cooperate in all the investigations that are going on, but Sean's our coach," Robbins told ABC15.
When asked about concern over potential sanctions, Robbins said it's up to the NCAA, "and we'll just cooperate with them and see what they have to say in the end."
