The ongoing criminal cases into college basketball corruption have revealed massive, sweeping violations across a vast majority of the sport’s landscape, Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel reported on Thursday. This investigation dates back to last September, when multiple colleges were implicated while the FBI made double-digit arrests.
College basketball corruption case will ‘fundamentally alter’ sport, per report
The FBI investigation into college basketball will reportedly implicate distinguished programs, Hall of Fame coaches, and totally alter the sport.
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In Thamel’s words, “the breadth of potential NCAA rules violations uncovered is wide enough to fundamentally and indelibly alter the sport of college basketball.”
There are three ongoing criminal investigations, and the results of those investigations are poised to radically impact and alter the sport. The story says:
- Up to 50 college basketball programs could be compromised due to this investigation
- The NCAA announced the current top 16 teams for the tournament last weekend, and “almost half” have been tied to these investigations, per one of the story’s sources
- That means that the NCAA might be forced to vacate the winner of this year’s tournament, an almost unprecedented move, when the investigation’s findings are made public
- The investigations are time bombs that will affect “every major conference, Hall of Fame coaches, a score of current top players and some of the nation’s most distinguished and respected programs,” Thamel writes.
Basically, college basketball is potentially screwed.
How did we get here?
On Sept. 26, the FBI arrested 10 college coaches and athletic company employees on financial charges, mostly illegal wire tapping and bribes. NBA agent Andy Miller’s office was raided and his computer confiscated, and the FBI is reportedly pursuing his financial records aggressively.
The scheme reportedly had sportswear companies paying college athletes to earn commitments to certain schools, and those schools, in turn, rewarded the companies with sponsorship deals. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York presented this graphic when describing the corruption case.
Miller is far from the only agent to be caught up in this massive corruption scandal, according to Thamel. As many as 15 different agents are guilty of similar crimes, the report alleges, and the FBI case could easily have settled on them instead.
Assistant coaches from Oklahoma State, Arizona, USC, and Auburn were all initially implicated, while Louisville fired both head coach Rick Pitino and athletic director Tom Jurich. Miami is another university that has been involved.
Since then, news has slowly trickled out about the corruption investigations, but this is a bombshell report that should put the entire sport on edge. Sure, March Madness will come next month like it always does, but it increasingly looks like it may be a last hurrah for the sport as we know it before a massive shakeup begins.
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