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Yahoo Sports and ESPN reported new developments in the continuing federal investigation into college basketball that threatens to ensnare significantly more major college programs and coaches -- and fallout began almost immediately.
Yahoo, having reviewed documents related to the Federal Bureau of Investigation inquiry that started last year, alleged that at least 20 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men’s basketball programs, and more than 25 players, could be in violation of the association's rules governing improper payments to recruits and players. Yahoo cites Duke University, the University of Southern California and Michigan State University among some of the institutions that could be implicated.
ESPN reported details on FBI wiretaps that reportedly captured the University of Arizona's head coach, Sean Miller, discussing payments with a representative of a sports agent at the center of the inquiry.
The reports prompted Miller to decide not to coach his team's game Saturday night, and the Arizona Board of Regents, which governs the state's three public universities, issued a statement Saturday expressing concern about the allegations.
Meanwhile, the NCAA's president, Mark Emmert, said in a statement Friday that the claims in the Yahoo report, if proven true, are “systematic failures that must be fixed and fixed now if we want college sports in America.”
“Simply put, people who engage in this kind of behavior have no place in college sports. They are an affront to all those who play by the rules,” Emmert said. He said the special committee he appointed would take strong action.
