AUSTIN, Texas -- University of Texas law professor Charles Alan Wright says his departure from the NCAA's Infraction Committee should end complaints by other Southwest Conference schools that they were not treated fairly during his tenure.
But Wright, an internationally known law scholar, said Tuesday he had 'mixed feelings' about leaving the panel that reviews enforcement division evidence and makes the final decision on probation and sanctions for NCAA member schools.
Wright officially left the committee Aug. 31 after completing a 10 -year term.
He was replaced by Frank Remington, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin who has been on the Infractions Committee since 1978.
'I have mixed feelings,' Wright said. 'I thought it was important, but it was terribly time consuming.'
Because of his affiliation with UT, Wright was often accused by other SWC schools that were investigated or punished by the NCAA of giving favored treatment to the Longhorns' sports programs.
Asked if his leaving would ease such criticism, Wright said, 'In a lot of ways I suppose it will.'
'To show how these things go, 10 days ago there was an article in Champaign, Ill., that said the reason the NCAA is investigating Illinois is that Frank Remington has it in for the University of Illinois,' he said. 'I think it just goes with the territory with the people who get in trouble.'
While he served on the committee, Wright was credited with designing a process to bring the NCAA in line with standards of due process.
While he left the committee three weeks ago, Wright said he voted on three or four cases that were heard in August and that will be announced this week.
Wright had to leave the panel because he had served the maximum time allowed on the committee -- nine years. Wright served longer because the limit was adopted after he joined the committee.
Known for his legal scholarship in the areas of constitutional law and the federal courts, Wright will be on leave from UT during the 1984 spring semester to be at England's Cambridge University.
