With only between 15 and 20 investigators on staff to cover 964 schools, critics argue selective enforcement is almost inevitable. To combat the huge workload, Zimbalist says the NCAA encourages schools to hire Bond, Schoenek and King, a Syracuse-based law firm that specializes in the intricacies of the NCAA rulebook. The head of Bond's NCAA division is Michael Glazier, a former NCAA investigator and friend of Dave Berst, the NCAA's chief of enforcement. One of its partners, Michael Slive, currently chairs the NCAA's Infractions Appeals Committee. Glazier and other Bond attorneys were not available for comment.
Schools hire the firm to conduct an internal investigation of alleged violations.
UConn uses Bond for its legal work, according to spokesman Kyle Muncie. According to Zimbalist, the attorneys come up with recommendations for the school that the firm thinks the NCAA will accept. Jankowski says the NCAA never refers business to any law firm. But the fact that schools need an outfit like Bond to cope with NCAA rules highlights the inadequacies of the system. They're hoping their recommendations will fly in front of the NCAA people.