Tag: ncaa investigation

Jim Harbaugh and Michigan are under investigation…again

The Michigan football program is once again under investigation, this time for allegedly scouting future opponents in-person.

The Michigan Wolverines and head coach Jim Harbaugh are under investigation once again.

Just weeks after Harbaugh returned to the Wolverines after a self-imposed three-game suspension, the NCAA announced on Thursday that the program is being investigated for in-person scouting and sign stealing.

It is worth noting that sign stealing is not against NCAA rules while in-person scouting is against the rules as stated in NCAA Bylaw 11.6.1. The rule states; “Off-Campus, In-Person Scouting Prohibition. Off-campus, in-person scouting of future opponents (in the same season) is prohibited.”

Ross Dellenger and Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports were the first to report the investigation. 

For Michigan, this is the second investigation undertaken by the NCAA regarding the football program. The program is also being investigated for multiple Level II alleged violations of Jim Harbaugh having in-person meetings with recruits during the COVID-19 dead period among several other allegations. Harbaugh was also caught lying to the NCAA in that original investigation, a Level I violation. It was after that Level I violation in which Michigan and Harbaugh self-imposed a three-game suspension.

On Thursday afternoon, the Big Ten confirmed the investigation.

“Late Wednesday afternoon, the Big Ten Conference and the University of Michigan were notified by the NCAA that the NCAA was investigating allegations of sign stealing by the University of Michigan football program,” a press release from the conference said. “The Big Ten Conference has notified Michigan State University and future opponents. The Big Ten Conference considers the integrity of competition to be of utmost importance and will continue to monitor the investigation. The Conference will have no further comment at this time.”

The Michigan Wolverines are currently 7-0 on the season and are ranked as the No. 2 team in the country by both the US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Poll.

Arizona State self-imposes bowl ban amid NCAA investigation

Arizona State has self-imposed a bowl ban for the 2023 season.

The Arizona State football program has self-imposed a bowl ban for the 2023 season as they await the NCAA’s investigation results and sanction decisions.

“Arizona State University has informed the NCAA and Pac-12 conference that it will self-impose a one-year postseason ban on its football program for the upcoming season,” Arizona State athletic director Ray Anderson said in a statement over the weekend.

The program is currently under investigation by the NCAA due to allegations that the Sun Devils hosted recruits on campus during the COVID-19 pandemic dead period. Those allegations happened under then-head coach Herm Edwards who mutually parted ways with the university last September following a 30-21 loss to Eastern Michigan.

With the investigation now going on for over two years, the Arizona State athletic department and football program decided that self-imposing a bowl ban was likely the best way to diminish any punishments handed down by the NCAA itself in the future.

The Sun Devils are coming off a 3-9 season in 2022, the program’s first losing season since 2016 and just their second since 2009. Following Edwards’ firing, the program was led by interim head coach Shaun Aguano, who served as the program’s running backs coach since 2019.

This season, the Sun Devils are entering their first season under Kenny Dillingham, who spent the last five years as an offensive coordinator at Memphis, Auburn, Florida State, and Oregon. The Sun Devils will begin their season on Thursday, August 31, against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds, an FCS program out of the United Athletic Conference.

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Michigan announces self-imposed suspension

Michigan hands down a self-imposed suspension to Jim Harbaugh.

In recent weeks it appeared that Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh and the NCAA had agreed on a four-game suspension per reports.

That changed when reports surfaced that the NCAA had thrown out the decision and it would come at a later date.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Harbaugh’s suspension will be for the first three games of the season. He will miss Michigan’s games against East Carolina on Sept. 2, UNLV on Sept. 9, and Bowling Green on Sept. 16. Harbaugh would return to the sideline just in time to open Big Ten play against Rutgers on Sept. 23 in Ann Arbor.

Harbaugh informed the team before practice Monday morning that he will serve the three-game suspension.

While the saga has seemingly taken its final twist as for how it will affect the 2023 season, the story is far from over. The Wolverines were served a notice of allegations and the NCAA had reportedly agreed to a four-game suspension one month ago, but the deal fell apart in the final hours in early August.

Harbaugh and Michigan had committed multiple Level I and Level II violations, including the former misleading investigators. The suspension is a self-imposed one handed down by the University of Michigan. This is likely to help its case with the impending punishment from the NCAA.

We will continue to monitor the situation.

Report: LSU had hearing with NCAA over FBI probe

The Tigers will now await a ruling from the Independent Resolution Panel, which could come in the next few months.

LSU reportedly had its hearing in front of the NCAA’s Independent Resolution Panel regarding the 2017 FBI investigation into college basketball in February, according to a report from Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde.

The Tigers will now await a ruling from the Independent Accountability Review Process, which (based on the timeline from previous cases) could come as soon as late spring or early summer. Per Forde, Kansas also recently went before the IRP for its hearing on the matter.

LSU is charged with eight Level I violations — the most severe violation the NCAA can hand down — with six of them regarding the basketball program and one regarding the football program. The eighth violation was for lack of institutional control and was levied against both programs

LSU fired men’s basketball coach [autotag]Will Wade[/autotag], now the head coach at McNeese, for his role in the scandal last spring after he was charged with five Level I violations and a Level II violation.

Both LSU and Kansas could face potential postseason bans based on the allegations, but that is a punishment the IRP chose not to hand down when it made previous rulings based on the FBI investigation in the cases against NC State, Memphis, Louisville and Arizona.

Regardless of how severe the penalties are, LSU should know what it will be facing before the beginning of the next athletic year. The Tigers will hope to be able to put this scandal behind them as coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] works to rebuild the program.

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Recently hired Will Wade already facing a suspension at McNeese

Wade will miss the first five games of next season in what is being deemed a “preemptive strike” against potential NCAA sanctions.

[autotag]Will Wade[/autotag] has only been back in a coaching role for a few days, and he’s already looking at a suspension.

The recently hired McNeese State coach will be suspended for the first five games of the season in what is being reported as a “preemptive strike” against potential NCAA rulings regarding Wade’s tenure at LSU. The news was first reported by Jim Gazzolo of the American Press.

According to Matthew Travis of KPLC in Lake Charles, the suspension will also prohibit Wade — who agreed to a five-year deal — from participating in off-campus recruiting activities through July 31.

Wade had a 105-51 record in five seasons as the head coach at LSU, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2019, but he was fired last spring after he was charged by the NCAA with multiple Level I violations in a notice of allegations.

A ruling on the case is still pending, meaning that McNeese could potentially face sanctions down the line depending on what the NCAA infractions committee decides to do. This move will attempt to soften any punishments that might be handed down.

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Updating the status of the NCAA investigation into LSU basketball

The program reportedly has no intention of self-imposing penalties in the basketball investigation.

On Thursday, the NCAA announced its findings in its ongoing investigation into the LSU football program and, specifically, the actions of former offensive line coach [autotag]James Cregg[/autotag].

The NCAA found that Cregg had impermissible contact with recruits during the COVID-19 recruiting dead period in 2020, and it levied a three-year show-cause against Cregg and one year of probation against the Tigers.

All in all, the penalties aren’t particularly severe, and all were self-imposed by the university. They include a minuscule $5,000 fine and several minor recruiting limitations. However, this isn’t the only issue the school currently has with the NCAA.

In March, basketball coach [autotag]Will Wade[/autotag] was fired for cause due to the NCAA Notice of Allegations against the basketball program, which accused him of five Level I violations in addition to several other allegations of misconduct. Per Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellinger, that investigation is still ongoing and will likely carry into next year.

However, when the ruling from the NCAA eventually comes down, you likely won’t see as proactive of a response from LSU the second time around. According to a report from The Athletic’s Brody Miller, the basketball program has no plans to self-impose penalties in cooperation with the NCAA investigation.

We’ll have to wait to see exactly what impacts the ongoing investigation has on the basketball program under new coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag], but it seems the NCAA decision will carry a lot more weight this time around.

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