According to Auburn University, the men's basketball team will not compete in the 2020-2021 postseason due to an ongoing matter from 2017 involving former assistant coach Chuck Person.
The university's athletic department said the decision was made in conjunction with head coach Bruce Pearl and was made in the best-long term interest of the program. The NCAA and the SEC have also been notified.
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In a news release, the university said it would not comment further on the matter involving Person, but noted the program has cooperated with the NCAA and will continue to do so.
Head Coach Bruce Pearl made the following statement:
This was a difficult decision but the right decision. I hate it for our current players. They lost the opportunity for the postseason last year because of COVID, and now they will miss the postseason again. It’s a two-year postseason penalty for them. However, we need to take this penalty now to put it behind us.
