Michigan bans itself from NCAA tourney for 1 year

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- The University of Michigan punished the men's basketball program Thursday, ordering a one-year postseason ban, forfeiting victories for certain years and removing championship banners from Crisler Arena as a result of the scandal surrounding a former booster.

In a letter submitted to the NCAA Thursday, Michigan said the men's basketball team would: be ineligible to participate in the 2003 NCAA tournament as well as the 2003 NIT tourney; be placed on probation for two years; forfeit all victories earned during the entire 92-93 season and all seasons from fall 1995 to spring 1999; return $450,000 to the NCAA for money earned for appearing in the NCAA tournament during those years; and have four championship banners removed.

"There is no excuse for what happened. It was wrong -- plain and simple," university president Mary Sue Coleman said. "This is a day of great shame."

The scandal, involving Ed Martin, has been an ongoing headache for Michigan, with some, including former athletic director Don Canham, saying it has caused irrevocable damage to the university, not just the basketball program.

Martin, who pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to launder money, has said he took gambling money, combined it with other funds and lent it to Sacramento Kings star Chris Webber and other former Michigan basketball players and their families while the players were still amateurs.

NCAA spokesman Wally Renfro said Thursday that the association doesn't comment on pending investigations.

The scandal traces itself to the "Fab Five" era, during which the basketball program became a national sensation.

Webber and four other freshmen, including future NBA stars Juwan Howard and Jalen Rose, with their baggy shorts and black socks, led the Wolverines to two consecutive NCAA finals in 1992 and 1993.

The banners taken down are the 1992 Final Four, 1993 Final Four, 1997 NIT championship and the 1998 Big Ten tournament championship.

Martin has said he paid $280,000 to Webber; $160,000 to Robert Traylor; $105,000 to Maurice Taylor; and $71,000 to Louis Bullock.

Webber, along with his father, Mayce Webber Jr., and aunt, Charlene Johnson, are charged with lying to a grand jury and obstructing justice in Martin's case. They have pleaded innocent and their trials are not expected to begin until next year.

Martin's name first surfaced after former Michigan standout Maurice Taylor lost control of his Ford Explorer on February 17, 1996. He was returning from a party in Detroit with four teammates who were entertaining Mateen Cleaves on his official recruiting visit.