Notice of Allegations: LSU 1 | FINAL | NCAA

Posted on 3/8/22 at 5:19 pm

Posted by Tuscaloosa

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Posted on 3/8/22 at 5:19 pm

SI Article

quote:
LSU has received a notice of allegations regarding its men’s basketball program, sources told Sports Illustrated on Tuesday, a major step in the process of resolving an infractions case that dates back to the 2017 federal investigation of corruption in the sport.

LSU officials did not acknowledge receipt of the NOA when contacted by SI on Tuesday. The NOA originated from the Complex Case Unit of the Independent Accountability Review Process—the so-called off-ramp for more complicated and contentious NCAA investigations. If coach Will Wade is charged with a major violation, he could be terminated with cause, according to a contract amendment he agreed to in April 2019. Wade’s attorney, Steve Thompson, did not immediately respond to a call from Sports Illustrated.

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It is unclear whether LSU would exercise that option without waiting for the full resolution of the case, which will take months. The Tigers (21–10), who are set to play in their third consecutive NCAA tournament next week, open play in the Southeastern Conference tournament Thursday.

The basketball infractions case was combined with violations uncovered within the football program. Those included a booster paying the father of a player $180,000 for a no-show job and former star player Odell Beckham Jr. paying LSU players cash on the field immediately after the Tigers won the 2019 national championship in New Orleans. With a 3–5 record late in the ’20 season, LSU self-imposed a bowl ban in reaction to the violations; the school had previously reduced its number of scholarships and limited some elements of its recruiting.

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LSU now has several weeks to file a response to the charges. The CCU will file its own response and a hearing will be held with a ruling thereafter. Those steps in the laborious process will likely take several months, but the ruling would be final. There is no appeal built into the IARP.

Outkick article:

quote:
LSU men’s basketball coach Will Wade may be in serious trouble with the NCAA and with his employers because of alleged recruiting violations that have been circling him and his program since 2019.

LSU has recently received the dreaded and expected Notice of Allegations from the NCAA, according to SI.com’s Pat Forde, who helped break a Yahoo.com story on March 7, 2019, that kicked off Wade’s serious NCAA troubles. The story featured Wade saying in 2017 on FBI wiretap that he went to player Javonte Smart “with a (expletive deleted) strong-arse offer.”

Smart was a highly recruited guard in 2017 at Scotlandville High in Baton Rouge who ended up signing with LSU and playing for the Tigers in the 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. LSU advanced in the NCAA Tournament in 2019 and in 2021 with the 2019-20 postseason being canceled because of COVID-19.

The Tigers, who play in the SEC Tournament on Thursday in Tampa, Florida, won the SEC regular season title in 2019 at 16-2 and finished 28-7 in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 with Smart, who is now in the Miami Heat’s organization in the NBA.

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LSU will have a month or more to respond to the Notice of Allegations. Then the Complex Case Units will file a response, and LSU’s hearing will be scheduled with an NCAA ruling and delivery of LSU’s possible punishment, probation and sanctions after that. LSU’s case could be finished by next fall.