Office of the

Superintendent/President

835 College Avenue

Kentfield, CA 94904
415 . 485 . 9400

Kentfield Campus
Indian Valley Campus
www.marin.edu

January 19, 2016

Shirley Baskin, BVC Commissioner
3710 Lone Tree Way #301
Antioch, CA 94509
Phone: 925-705-8774
bvcbaskin@gmail.com
Dear Ms. Baskin:
Thank you for your letter dated January 14 outlining your findings and sanctions relating to the
inappropriate conduct of Dave Granucci, former College of Marin mens basketball coach. As Vice
President Eldridge wrote to you when we self-reported the findings from our internal investigation, the
College is committed to complying with all CCCAA Bylaws and conducting our athletic programs with the
highest standards of integrity.
After reviewing the sanctions and the CCCAA Bylaws, I am writing for two purposes:
1. To appeal one element of the sanctions;
2. To learn more about the apparent absence of sanctions for Mr. Granucci.
College of Marin accepts all sanctions except the following:
The players on the current roster who have benefitted from financial housing arrangements are ineligible
to participate. They are not to participate in any more contests and the games they played in are to be
forfeited. These players are Robert Colton, Ty Davis, Ken Modica, Karim NDiaye and Bobby Reeves.
Mr. Colton is no longer on the team and has not participated this season in any way. The remaining players
were not knowingly complicit in Mr. Granuccis wrongdoing and we believe that they therefore should not
bear the brunt of these sanctions. These students were following the directions of their coach, whom they
trusted at the time, and have complied with everything we have asked of them since the issues at hand came
to light.
Should these players be deemed ineligible, the College of Marin mens basketball team will only have five
remaining players. This will obviously necessitate the cancellation of the remainder of the season and result
in forfeiture of not just the first two contests as you outline in your letter, but all contests. This will have
significant negative impact not only on our student athletes, but on all teams in the Bay Valley Conference.
We are particularly concerned about this sanction in relation to the well-being and educational futures of
the student athletes in question. We are also perplexed by this sanction given Athletic Director Berringers
phone conversation with you on October 19th and your October 23rd email response to him in which you
answered questions about student athletes transferring and the potential implications of cancelling the
basketball season. You indicated in that email that you hoped College of Marin would not cancel the season.
You wrote:
After our discussion the other day, I am hoping that this email is now a moot point and that you will be able
to field a team. As you know, the other coaches in the league have been discussing
your situation. What their main concern is, at this point in time, is the loss of contests if your team is not
playing. They feel it will leave them scrambling for games to cover the loss of these contests. I hope I can
assume that you will be able to field a team. If you cannot, please let me know as soon as possible so I can
notify the rest of the conference.

Ms. Shirley Baskin

January 19, 2016
Page 2

Mr. Berringer reached out to you because the College was concerned that sanctions might include a
cancellation of the season. We were prepared to act proactively if that was to be a likely outcome. Your
email led us to proceed with the season, including the hiring of a new coach and incurring all of the
associated costs of practice and play. It is concerning that after this exchangeat which time Mr. Berringer
made clear the type and magnitude of the potential infractions involvedthe sanctions now being imposed
will result in the cancellation of the season.
This, in effect, also punishes those players not involved with any of Mr. Granuccis wrongdoing, as it is too
late for them to find other opportunities and may very well impact their remaining eligibility given their
participation in this seasons initial contests. In other words, this sanction directed at four current players
has a reach well beyond them and is, as a result, the harshest of sanctions possible: the complete demolition
of the mens basketball program.
College of Marins high level of initiative, self-imposed accountability, and transparency should provide
the CCCAA with confidence both that such infractions will not recur at COM, and that the sanctions will
serve to educate, warn, and deter such behavior throughout the Conference. Punishing the individual players
does not serve any further purpose to protect the integrity of the Conference.
We ask that you reconsider this particular aspect of the sanctions. The College accepts all other facets of
the sanctions and will comply fully with them. Until we receive a decision on this appeal we will continue
to allow those players in question to participate and compete. If the appeal is granted, this will allow us to
maintain a team and avoid adverse impact on our opponents and the Conference. If the appeal is denied,
these games would be forfeited anyway, as we would then have to cancel the remainder of the season.
Regarding Mr. Granucci, whose conduct precipitated all of this, we find it troubling that there are apparently
no sanctions directed at him. Our reading of the CCCAA Bylaws indicate that you can impose sanctions on
a coach and we would hope that might include at a minimum restricting him from coaching at schools in
the CCCAA in the future.
As we informed you when we self-reported, AD Berringer is conducting additional training with all
coaches, additional internal controls relating to international student-athletes are being implemented, and
the College continues to pursue further action with Mr. Granucci regarding the improper fundraising
activities.
We look forward to your response to our appeal and can provide any additional information you may require
at any point. In the interim, we will begin taking steps to comply with those sanctions not subject to this
appeal.
Sincerely,

David Wain Coon, Ed.D

Superintendent/President
cc:

Jonathan Eldridge, Senior Vice President of Student Learning & Student Services
Steve Berringer, Interim Director of Athletics & Kinesiology
Carlyle Carter, CEO CCCAA