How will UCLA trio be punished? It's complicated

That three UCLA players' arrests last week in China drew global interest and the players admitted their guilt upon returning to the U.S. are key factors in how they'll be punished under the university's conduct code, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing the code and experts in student discipline.

As it stands, freshmen LiAngelo Ball, Jelen Hill and Cody Riley are suspended indefinitely from all basketball-related activities while UCLA reviews the case surrounding their arrests last week in Hangzhou, China, for allegedly stealing items from three luxury stores.

“How schools respond to charges and convictions tends to depend on the profile of the player, his or her role in the program and the strength of the program,” Pepperdine law professor Alicia Jessop told the Times. “One factor this case has that most don't, though, is the widespread global attention. The public attention may cause UCLA to come down harsher on the men than it would have had they been accused of stealing in the United States.”

The process moving ahead is straightforward, according to the 38-page student conduct code (note: a separate process is used if sexual misconduct is alleged):

A written complaint is filed with the Office of Student Conduct.
After the student is notified of the accusation, he or she has five days to schedule a first meeting with the dean of students, currently Maria Blandizzi.
If during that meeting the student admits guilt, as the three Bruins did at Wednesday’s news conference, then the dean will determine the punishment and has wide latitude in doing so. If the student doesn't admit guilt, then the dean can refer the matter to the student conduct committee for a hearing.
If the student admits guilt or is found guilty by the student conduct committee, then there are 2 1/2 pages in the conduct code that cover the range of punishments possible, starting with issuing a warning to the student and up to dismissing him or her from school.

Factors that lend uncertainty to the process: The value of the items stolen, which remains unclear, and, though theft is considered a violation of both the student conduct code and athletic department's code of conduct, neither document suggests a punishment for that specific violation.

B. David Ridpath, a former college administrator who is a professor of sports administration at Ohio University, told the Times that UCLA’s process is “pretty standard.”

“The caveat is I never had an athlete involved in a student code issue where lawyers, the athletic department, trustees and boosters didn’t try to get involved and throw their weight around,” Ridpath said. “It would be better for UCLA to keep this process independent and like it would be for any student.”