Major Conference Coaches Indicted For Bribery Scheme

[superman7515]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2017/09/26/justice-department-charges-college-basketball-coaches-with-accepting-bribes-in-corruption-case/?utm_term=.b2e418433242


The Justice Department unsealed indictments Tuesday morning charging basketball coaches at four Division I schools with accepting bribes to steer athletes toward the professional services of several business managers, financial advisers, and representatives of a major international sportswear company.

The assistant coaches named in the indictments are Lamont Evans of Oklahoma State, Chuck Person of Auburn, Emanuel Richardson of Arizona and Tony Bland of Southern California. The coaches are charged with accepting bribes in exchange for steering athletes toward using the services of business executives including Jim Gatto, a marketing director at Adidas and Munish Sood, chief executive of financial advisory company Princeton Capital.

A news conference is scheduled for noon in New York City.

The complaint alleges that Jim Gatto, the head of sports marketing at Adidas, paid recruits to sign with Adidas-sponsored schools and then sign with Adidas once they turned professional. He was assisted in this scheme by Merl Code, another Adidas employee, according to the complaint. The payments were brokered by three men: Christian Dawkins, a business manager; Munish Sood, a financial adviser; and Jonathan Brand Augustine, who runs an Adidas-sponsored AAU basketball team. The payments were made with the promise that the players sign agreements with Dawkins and Sood once they turned professional.

The men agreed to pay $100,000 to the family of one recruit and $150,000 to the family of another recruit, the complaint alleges. The schools were not named, though one was described as “a public research university located in Kentucky” with approximately 22,640 students. The other school was described as “a private research university located in Florida” with approximately 16,000 students...

[UIWWildthing]

Louisville apparently paid 100K for Bruce Bowen. While already on probation. Death Penalty time?

[FUBeAR]

Louisville apparently paid 100K for Bruce Bowen. While already on probation. Death Penalty time?

In the long run and in the big picture, I see 2 choices...

1) Death Penalty to all intercollegiate athletics (which won't happen)

2a) Professional Teams (AAA-Level Professional Teams, if you will) AFFILIATED, by contract (Players are PAID and can go to their Teams' contracted schools, but don't have to), with P5 Schools
2b) (Sane) Intercollegiate Athletics, governed by the NCAA (or whatever replaces the NCAA after the defecation really impacts the rotor blades), for G5, FCS, D2, and D3.

3) I guess there is really a 3rd choice, also. Continue as is and continue to sink further and further into being a dirty, slimy, unethical morass of greed, deception, and immorality (is that still a word?)

[BEAR]

FBI being rather selective on what they prosecute and who they come after? Interesting. I guess it really does matter WHO you are...easy to overlook one person violating federal law I guess.

BB has been an uneven playing field for years. I wonder how many coaches are sweating it out....xlolx

[walliver]

Maybe college basketball should be more like baseball. Let NBA teams "draft" players out of high school, pay their tuition and FCOA (in place of the minor leagues), and then call them up as needed. The whole concept of one-and-done for top high school players has completely perverted college basketball. Will a Kentucky BB player ever graduate?

[UIWWildthing]

Feel bad for Cleveland State. They are going to get the death penalty for what Louisville did.

[Laker]

Both UNC & Louisville should get the death penalty, but they make too much money for the NCAA.

[FUBeAR]

Maybe college basketball should be more like baseball. Let NBA teams "draft" players out of high school, pay their tuition and FCOA (in place of the minor leagues), and then call them up as needed. The whole concept of one-and-done for top high school players has completely perverted college basketball. Will a Kentucky BB player ever graduate?

Exactly - Football too. And the Teams can be Private Companies that are AFFILIATED with 'their' colleges. Many schools have various other profit-making business ventures - Engineering Centers, for example that do work for private companies or the military, etc. Why can't schools have profit-making Athletics BUSINESS Ventures...with employees (Players)? Stop this charade of the "Student Athlete" at the P5 Level and just let 'em be pros. Jump in bed with the NFL and the NBA and all of the Sports Apparel businesses and CASH OUT, baby!!! EVERYONE'S GETTIN' PAID!!! Now if they would like to attend school and have their tuition be part of their compensation package, that's perfectly acceptable. A lot of companies offer tuition reimbursement as a benefit. It really wouldn't be hard. The Pro Leagues govern the competition (just like they do their own leagues) and replace the NCAA and the Schools govern the business (just like AAA owners do). Alumni still get to cheer for their uniforms and they can still pretend that those Players are Student Athletes (just like they do now). It really works. And...if they leagues want to expand, hey, maybe some G5 and/or FCS Schools will be ready to TURN PRO.

I really do...honestly, hate the charade of big-time college athletics these days. The sooner the FUBeAR Plan is enacted, the better off REAL COLLEGE Football Teams with REAL STUDENT ATHLETES will be!

[CID1990]

Exactly - Football too. And the Teams can be Private Companies that are AFFILIATED with 'their' colleges. Many schools have various other profit-making business ventures - Engineering Centers, for example that do work for private companies or the military, etc. Why can't schools have profit-making Athletics BUSINESS Ventures...with employees (Players)? Stop this charade of the "Student Athlete" at the P5 Level and just let 'em be pros. Jump in bed with the NFL and the NBA and all of the Sports Apparel businesses and CASH OUT, baby!!! EVERYONE'S GETTIN' PAID!!! Now if they would like to attend school and have their tuition be part of their compensation package, that's perfectly acceptable. A lot of companies offer tuition reimbursement as a benefit. It really wouldn't be hard. The Pro Leagues govern the competition (just like they do their own leagues) and replace the NCAA and the Schools govern the business (just like AAA owners do). Alumni still get to cheer for their uniforms and they can still pretend that those Players are Student Athletes (just like they do now). It really works. And...if they leagues want to expand, hey, maybe some G5 and/or FCS Schools will be ready to TURN PRO.

I really do...honestly, hate the charade of big-time college athletics these days. The sooner the FUBeAR Plan is enacted, the better off REAL COLLEGE Football Teams with REAL STUDENT ATHLETES will be!

I was on this bandwagon 20 years ago back when it made you a complete nut to be on this bandwagon


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[superman7515]

Pitino held a meeting and told his assistants that he expects to lose his job...

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/20835336/louisville-basketball-coach-rick-pitino-tells-staff-expects-lose-job

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Pitino held a meeting and told his assistants that he expects to lose his job...

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/20835336/louisville-basketball-coach-rick-pitino-tells-staff-expects-lose-job

His 9 lives have finally run up!

[superman7515]

https://twitter.com/darrenrovell/status/913039593225818112

[superman7515]

Head Coach Rick Pitino and Athletic Director Tom Jurich fired.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/20834710/louisville-head-coach-rick-pitino-athletic-director-tom-jurich-out (http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/20834710/louisville-head-coach-rick-pitino-athletic-director-tom-jurich-out)

[wow]

I wonder if this justice department will go after North Carolina and their academic scandal...

https://www.si.com/college-basketball/2017/08/15/unc-academic-scandal-ncaa-investigation-infractions-hearings

[FUBeAR]

I wonder if this justice department will go after North Carolina and their academic scandal...

https://www.si.com/college-basketball/2017/08/15/unc-academic-scandal-ncaa-investigation-infractions-hearings

Looks like UNC is utilizing the Shaggy Defense


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv5fqunQ_4I

[walliver]

His 9 lives have finally run up!

There's always Liberty.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[superman7515]

I wonder if this justice department will go after North Carolina and their academic scandal...

https://www.si.com/college-basketball/2017/08/15/unc-academic-scandal-ncaa-investigation-infractions-hearings

They already did...


To avoid prosecution, Nyang'oro and Crowder cooperated with a new investigation by former U.S. Justice Department official Kenneth Wainstein.

The justice department is going after the individuals, not the schools, and the individuals involved in the academic issue cooperated and were not charged.

[BisonTru]

Rick Pitino 'effectively' fired at Louisville
In a stunning fall from grace, Rick Pitino has “effectively” been fired as head basketball coach at the
University of Louisville (https://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/laq), following the earlier firing of athletic director Tom Jurich (https://sports.yahoo.com/signs-indicate-louisvilles-rick-pitino-tom-jurich-fired-amid-college-basketball-scandal-144838841.html), meaning the two greatest architects of Louisville’s 21st century athletic success are gone.
https://sports.yahoo.com/rick-pitino-effectively-fired-louisville-164618078.html?soc_trk=gcm&soc_src=5c839b50-00d3-37e8-a68f-7c03c48d7104&.tsrc=notification-brknews

[Reign of Terrier]

The entire premise of this scandal (and I'll admit I haven't read much more than the headlines) is just frickin wild to me

[IBleedYellow]

This is going to get deep and dirty, very very fast.

[clenz]

Exactly - Football too. And the Teams can be Private Companies that are AFFILIATED with 'their' colleges. Many schools have various other profit-making business ventures - Engineering Centers, for example that do work for private companies or the military, etc. Why can't schools have profit-making Athletics BUSINESS Ventures...with employees (Players)? Stop this charade of the "Student Athlete" at the P5 Level and just let 'em be pros. Jump in bed with the NFL and the NBA and all of the Sports Apparel businesses and CASH OUT, baby!!! EVERYONE'S GETTIN' PAID!!! Now if they would like to attend school and have their tuition be part of their compensation package, that's perfectly acceptable. A lot of companies offer tuition reimbursement as a benefit. It really wouldn't be hard. The Pro Leagues govern the competition (just like they do their own leagues) and replace the NCAA and the Schools govern the business (just like AAA owners do). Alumni still get to cheer for their uniforms and they can still pretend that those Players are Student Athletes (just like they do now). It really works. And...if they leagues want to expand, hey, maybe some G5 and/or FCS Schools will be ready to TURN PRO.

I really do...honestly, hate the charade of big-time college athletics these days. The sooner the FUBeAR Plan is enacted, the better off REAL COLLEGE Football Teams with REAL STUDENT ATHLETES will be!
Why tie the NCAA into it.

Go baseball route.

NBA gets rid of stupid 1 year out of HS rule. Allows kids to go pro out of HS.

The NBA comiits to actually funding the NBA G League as it should. Every team has a GL team. 15 on the NBA roster 15 on the GL roster. Expand the draft to 4 or 5 rounds. Pay the GL better than they are. Allow the GL to become a true "minor league" system.

If a kid goes to college out of HS he's there 3 years.

[FUBeAR]

Why tie the NCAA into it.

Go baseball route.

NBA gets rid of stupid 1 year out of HS rule. Allows kids to go pro out of HS.

The NBA comiits to actually funding the NBA G League as it should. Every team has a GL team. 15 on the NBA roster 15 on the GL roster. Expand the draft to 4 or 5 rounds. Pay the GL better than they are. Allow the GL to become a true "minor league" system.

If a kid goes to college out of HS he's there 3 years.

The NCAA, per se, does not need to be "tied into it," but this is ALL about MONEY...and the affiliation with Schools drives a lot of the MONEY now. Some pure minor league won't. If they (that's a 'corporate' they, i.e., every stakeholder) wants to keep the money the same as it is now, they need to keep the revenue streams in place as they are....not try to build them from scratch...with the Ann Arbor Armadillos vs. the Columbus Coatis....Blue vs. Bucks...and money stays the same.

The NCAA will not have a place at the table in the new order of P5 Schools / NFL / NBA alliance...totally unnecessary, but Allan Alumni and his millions of friends are REQUIRED.

The NCAA can right-size and govern the rest of TRUE Amateur Intercollegiate Athletics if they want to...or they can be replaced cuz...really, they have totally failed!

[GodHelpTheBears]

My gut says the FBI approached this as kicking the door down - get a few to start, make them sing and work their way out from there. I highly, highly doubt these will be the only individuals apprehended.

[walliver]

I'm beginning to wonder if this is just a few bad apples ... or just the tip of the iceberg.

[clenz]

I'm beginning to wonder if this is just a few bad apples ... or just the tip of the iceberg.Iceburg

Every program, over a certain level, is funneling money to players, HS coaches, AAU coaches, runners, etc... to some degree. It might just be a few hundreds, maybe a couple grand, on the low end. Hell, it might even just be a couple season tickets (hell, at a place like UNI season tickets are well over $300 per ticket).

The MMs that are doing that are 99.8% going to end up fine right now. The programs are small enough, the recruits aren't hyped enough, and the "perks" are small enough to stay out of the realm of the FBI on this one. This one is going to get real ugly for a ton of coaches higher up in the game. This whole issue started because of the shoe manufacturers getting involved and paying for these things to happen. That breaks laws. Random MM program sending a few hundred bucks to an AAU coach to help funnel a kid to their program isn't against the law - just NCAA rules. However, the NCAA has no teeth to actually investigate things like that. They don't have the power to make anyone answer anything or get to the bottom of it on their own. Watch for that to change in the coming years. The NCAA will become much more than just a "governing body".

[superman7515]

CBS confirms that Rick Pitino is "Coach 2" in indictment, Coach 2 was directly involved with providing payments to players.

https://twitter.com/CBSThisMorning/status/913366213232922624

[superman7515]

Excerpts from the indictment show that Pitino could actually be facing prison time because he was directly involved...
Dawkins said Coach-2 talked to him about getting more money for Bowen, and told him to call Jim Gatto. (36e)
Call records show that Gatto had conversations with a phone number used by Coach-2. There were 3 conversations between May 27 and July 1. Bowen committed on July 3. (37)
And oh yeah, "no one swings a bigger dick than Coach-2" at Adidas. All he has to do is call them and say "these are my guys" and they'll take care of it. (36d)

[BEAR]

I heard the FBI told NCAA schools that if they are involved in any way in any form like this, it will be better for them to come forward now on their own.


Is Trump draining the NCAA swamp? xlolx

[superman7515]

http://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/louisville/2017/10/05/university-louisville-college-basketball-adidas-tom-jurich-rick-pitinio-money/730771001/


When University of Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich (http://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/louisville/2017/09/27/tom-jurich-louisvilles-longtime-athletic-director/707511001/) announced a new $160 million, 10-year deal with athletic apparel giant Adidas (http://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/louisville/2017/09/27/louisville-adidas-college-basketball-scandal/706617001/) on Aug. 25, a reporter asked him if some of the proceeds would be shared with the university.

“It’s for the athletic department,” Jurich replied. “It’s for these student-athletes. It’s been earmarked for them.”

In fact, under the current deal with Adidas, which expires July 1st, 98 percent of the cash provided by Adidas goes to one person: Rick Pitino (http://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/louisville/2017/03/29/louisville-basketball-rick-pitino-salary-comparison-acc-coaches-usa-today-database/99771298/), the now-suspended head coach.

In 2015-16, for example, $1.5 million went to Pitino under his personal services agreement with the apparel company while just $25,000 went to the program, according to a contract obtained by the Courier-Journal under the state public records act.

The year before, Pitino also got $1.5 million, while the department banked just $10,000...