Former Duncanville High School girls basketball coach Cathy Self-Morgan was found guilty Tuesday of recruiting violations by a University Interscholastic League committee and handed a three-year suspension from coaching.
The Duncanville High School girls basketball program was also issued a two-year probation, according to The Dallas Morning News, but will face no other immediate action unless further infractions are found.
"I am glad the UIL investigation is completed, and we wish Cathy Self-Morgan well in her retirement. We respect the UIL decision, and moving forward we will improve the processes in place to ensure they meet the expectations of UIL rules and regulations as well as Duncanville ISD," said Dr. Marc Smith, superintendent of the Duncanville ISD.
At the MANE SPOT barber shop, Fred, the barber, and his clients were just hearing the news Tuesday afternoon.
"You know that football, basketball is real big in Texas," said Fred with his clippers in hand. "We take that very seriously.
"Have the facts come out about the situation," added Jamison Sterns, a Duncanville High School alum. When he found out the coach was suspended, he was surprised. "Dang! I don't got no comment on that."
"I only have one thing to say," said Larry Wilbourn as he waited for his cut. "That is that Coach Self-Morgan is a wonderful person."
The UIL added that Self-Morgan, who announced her retirement earlier this year, would be expected to appear before the State Executive Committee before coaching again at a UIL-member school.
The UIL committee disagreed with finding from a law firm hired by the Duncanville Independent School District to investigate allegations of UIL rules violations. Those findings, which concluded Self-Morgan did not commit any violations regarding recruiting, were revealed in early March. The firm did find, however, that Self-Morgan did make a few decisions involving school facilities that could be considered against UIL rules.
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A former student athlete at Duncanville alleged Self-Morgan offered another player’s parent a job at the school as a reward if that player transferred to play at Duncanville. The firm found no credible evidence to support that allegation.
Later in the report, documented text messages seem to reveal Self-Morgan offering free use of the Duncanville ISD gymnasium to a summer league coach if he was able to have two of his players transfer to Duncanville.
The report noted Self-Morgan allowed other AAU teams to use the gymnasium without cost, but recommended Duncanville ISD have "policy improvements related to both facilities usage and record keeping," and that those policies "should be implemented as soon as practicable."
As the investigation began in February, Self-Morgan announced her retirement from coaching after 19 seasons at Duncanville.
