The Arizona Board of Regents will vote this week whether to add language to men's basketball coach Sean Miller's contract that would require him to return $1 million if he's charged with a crime or found guilty of major NCAA violations.
The amendment would be in addition to a clause in Miller's current contract, which would require him to return $300,000 and any bonuses if he's found guilty of major or repetitive NCAA violations.
Miller, 49, earns about $2.6 million in annual compensation, not including performance bonuses, under a contract that runs through May 2022. He is scheduled to receive $100,000 raises in base pay in each of the next three years of the deal.
The Arizona Republic reported Tuesday that the $1 million penalty would come from Miller's longevity bonus, which is currently about $4.1 million and was established by an Arizona booster in 2014. Miller is scheduled to receive the bonus in May 2020.
Arizona's Emanuel "Book" Richardson was one of four assistant coaches arrested by the FBI in September as part of a widespread investigation into bribes and other corruption in college basketball. Richardson is accused of accepting at least $20,000 from Christian Dawkins, a runner for sports agent Andy Miller, to influence Arizona players in choosing specific agents and financial managers once they turned pro.
Richardson, who worked with Miller at Xavier and Arizona since 2007, was indicted on six felony counts: conspiracy to commit bribery, solicitation of bribes and gratuities by an agent of a federally funded organization, conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud and travel act conspiracy.
Richardson faces 60 years in prison and a $1.5 million fine. He has pleaded not guilty, and a jury trial is scheduled to begin at U.S. District Court in New York in April 2019. Arizona officials formally fired him on Jan. 11.
Last month, ESPN reported that FBI wiretaps intercepted telephone calls between Sean Miller and Dawkins, and multiple sources told ESPN that they discussed a $100,000 payment to freshman center DeAndre Ayton. Miller has denied paying Ayton or any other Arizona players.
Ayton, a native of the Bahamas, was interviewed multiple times by the FBI, NCAA investigators and attorneys who are conducting an inquiry for the university, according to his attorney and Arizona officials.
Miller has a 247-73 record in nine seasons at Arizona. The Wildcats won their fifth Pac-12 regular-season championship during his tenure this past season before losing to Buffalo 89-68 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.