By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Basketball Writer
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Miami women’s basketball coach Katie Meier has been suspended for the first three games of the season while the school cooperates with an NCAA probe, a person with knowledge of the matter said Sunday.
The suspension is related to “an enforcement matter” that the NCAA is looking into, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the school has not revealed the move nor any specifics of the probe.
The NCAA has not announced any sanctions against Miami, which means this is a self-imposed penalty by the university.
The games Meier will miss Monday’s season-opener against Maryland-Eastern Shore, Thursday’s game against Stetson and a Nov. 13 matchup with Boston University, all at home. She will return for a Nov. 16 game, also at home, against Florida Atlantic.
Assistant head coach Fitzroy Anthony will lead the team in Meier’s absence.
The only known NCAA inquiry involving Miami in recent months was opened late last spring, centered around some name, image and likeness (NIL) deals for some of the school’s athletes. In June, the university confirmed that there was a “review” and that it regularly communicates with the NCAA “to ensure compliance with applicable NCAA regulations,” but did not offer specifics.
Miami’s roster this season includes twins Hanna and Haley Cavinder, two of the most recognizable athletes in the NIL era. The Cavinders announced April 22 that they would be transferring to Miami.
“They are relentless competitors,” Meier said during the preseason of the twins. “I think that’s been missed quite a bit. But they are relentless. Like, they will not rest unless they perfect something. So they were willing to come into a program that’s pretty established. The reason being, they want to play in the Big Dance. They want to play against the nation’s best.”
The Hurricanes were picked to finish sixth in the Atlantic Coast Conference this season and are coming off a 21-13 year that saw them reach the ACC title game and the second round of the NCAA tournament — falling to eventual champion South Carolina.
Meier’s integrity and penchant for playing by rules has routinely been touted and celebrated by the school. Her 2011-12 team spent most of the season as a top-10 team in the AP Top 25, reaching No. 5 in mid-February and cementing itself as a legitimate Final Four contender.
But in the days before the 2022 NCAA tournament, Riquna Williams — an All-ACC guard that year — broke a team rule. Meier said she suspended the guard for “conduct detrimental to the team,” and the Hurricanes lost in the second round.
Meier has won 324 games at Miami, the most in the school’s basketball history, and 400 games overall. She is a past Associated Press coach of the year and a past USA Basketball coach of the year, is a member of the Miami Sports Hall of Fame and the Hall of Honor at Duke, her alma mater.
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