In a strongly worded rebuttal, the University of Hawaii challenged former basketball coach Gib Arnold’s "counter allegations of wrongdoing against the university" and claims of mitigating factors in reply to the charges leveled against him by the NCAA.

"When the histrionics of Arnold’s accusations against the University are stripped away, little substance remains," UH’s 21-page "Supplemental Response to Notice of Allegations" read. "The so-called ‘mitigating factors’ set out in Arnold’s response are factually incorrect and do not serve to excuse Arnold’s conduct. Moreover, Arnold’s current position with respect to several aspects of the Notice of Allegations is directly contradictory to his prior statements," UH’s statement said.

UH’s "Supplemental Response" was submitted to the NCAA by its Alabama-based law firm, Lightfoot, Franklin & White, on Tuesday, and a redacted version was made available to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Saturday in response to a request under the state’s open records law.

The NCAA issued its Notice of Allegations on Jan. 30, charging seven violations of NCAA rules. All were listed as Level I or Level II, the most severe of four categories. Both UH and Arnold replied on May 15.

Despite requests, neither UH nor Arnold’s Honolulu attorney, James Bickerton, have released a copy of Arnold’s original May 15 response to the NCAA, the document that prompted UH’s reply.

UH and Arnold, who the school dismissed amid the NCAA investigation Oct. 28, 2014 without cause, are scheduled to appear at an NCAA Committee on Infractions hearing July 16-17 in Scottsdale, Ariz., where a five- to seven-member panel will hear Case No. 00020.

In its supplemental response, UH said, "… Arnold attempts to deflect responsibility for his violations through a disjointed attack on the university’s compliance office and, more specifically, its compliance director." Amanda Paterson is the director of compliance at UH.

UH said, "… these accusations, none of which will exonerate Arnold, are factually incorrect. Ultimately, Arnold’s so-called ‘mitigating factors’ are little more than a misguided effort to distract the committee from the relevant question of whether the evidence supports a finding that Arnold or members of his staff committed the violations alleged."

Arnold, according to documents, told the NCAA that upon taking over at UH he "suspected" a former basketball academic adviser had been doing class work for players, terminated the adviser and notified the director of Student-Athlete Academic Services.

But UH said the director, Jennifer Matsuda, died Feb. 14, 2015 and "no other witness corroborates Arnold’s account of his unsubstantiated ‘suspicion,’ which is made in his May 15, 2015 response for the first time. Arnold did not notify the university’s athletics director or compliance officer. More importantly, the allegation in no way mitigates or excuses Arnold’s failure to comply with NCAA legislation as set out in the Notice of Allegations."

In Arnold’s May 15 response, UH said, "Arnold also claims, for the first time, that he witnessed but did not report, the head women’s basketball coach and an assistant coach conduct an impermissible workout of a prospective student-athlete in Dec. 2013."

UH said, "… had Arnold reported to compliance in a timely matter the violation he now claims to have witnessed when it allegedly occurred, the compliance officer could have investigated to determine whether a violation occurred. There is no corroborating evidence of this event anywhere in the case file."

UH said, "Arnold also contends that the compliance office treated the women’s basketball team differently and allowed that team to engage in activities — practice during finals week in the summer term — that Arnold believed to be impermissible but which were, in fact, permissible."

On Saturday, Bickerton said, "It appears to me that the UH administration was bent on getting rid of Gib Arnold so they could get a regents’ friend in as coach. When Benjy Taylor started winning games, one of the former Riley Wallace assistants went on Jeff Portnoy’s radio show and started trash-talking about Benjy. They had picked out the person they wanted as replacement coach and they were gonna make sure Gib Arnold did not get back in as coach."

UH advertised the basketball coaching position March 25, 2015. Portnoy, a UH regent, has said he did not play a role in Arnold’s dismissal.