Frank Haith Reportedly Facing NCAA Allegations of Unethical Conduct

Missouri head coach Frank Haith is reportedly going to be receiving notification from the NCAA regarding allegations of "unethical conduct and failure to promote an atmosphere of compliance," according to ESPN.

The allegations focus on Haith's time as head coach at University of Miami.

ESPN reports that "Haith faces the unethical conduct charge because the NCAA believes that payments to his assistants that Haith said [were] for basketball camps ended up paying Miami booster Nevin Shapiro."

Shapiro, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his involvement in a Ponzi scheme, has been linked with recruiting violations and providing benefits to Miami athletes in the past.

The timing of these reports could not be worse for Missouri.  The Tigers are coming off a disappointing stretch that culminated in a blowout loss to Florida this weekend.  

Missouri has dropped two games in a seven-day span and now sits at just fifth in the standings in the weak SEC. 

At a critical time, when Missouri needs to regain its focus and elite play from the beginning of this season, the majority of media attention will now be paid to a story that has little to do with the Tigers program.

It will be understandably difficult for Haith to rein in his team while he has to deal with these allegations.

Haith responded to ESPN.com with a text that read, "We are in constant contact (with) the NCAA but we have not yet received a notice of allegations."

If these allegations do lead to a substantive claim by the NCAA, it will be up to Missouri to decide whether to continue forward with Haith, as the NCAA does not have the ability to terminate a coach's contract.

Haith has had incredible success since he began his tenure at Missouri, going 43-9.

Obviously, there is more to come from this story. Keep checking B/R for all the latest updates.