LSU has received a notice of allegations involving the men's basketball program on Tuesday. In the report via Sports Illustrated, the notice is a major revelation in the 2017 federal investigation into corruption surrounding college basketball.
School officials have failed to respond to SI's report on whether they received the notice or not. The NOA was originated from the NCAA's Independent Accountability Resolution Processes (IARP) Complex Case Unit which handles the more complicated and complex cases involving their member schools.
The allegations involved in the notice stem from Tigers basketball coach Will Wade being caught on FBI wiretaps back in 2017. The 39-year-old coach was talking to aspiring sports agent, Christian Dawkins about a "strong offer" for then prospect Javonte Smart.
Here is what Wade said in that conversation with Dawkins via HBO's The Scheme, a documentary that chronicles Dawkins' role in the vast corruption that goes on in high-level college basketball.
“I was thinking last night on this Smart thing. I’ll be honest with you, I’m f------ tired of dealing with the thing," Wade said to Dawkins. "Like I’m just f------ sick of dealing with the s---."
“I went to him with a f------ strong-ass offer about a month ago. F------ strong. But the problem was, I know why he didn’t take it now, because it was it was f------ tilted toward the family a little bit. But I mean, it was a f------ hell of a f------ offer. Hell of an offer. Especially for a kid who is going to be a two- or three-year kid. I’ve made deals for a lot of players who are as good as him that were f------ a lot simpler than this.”
Dawkins, who is currently serving an 18-month prison sentence in Alabama for bribery and conspiracy charges, said on camera that Wade "wasn't talking bout a scholarship," he was 100% talking about offering Smart money.
The football team's allegations have been lumped in with the basketball team. Allegations in the NCAA's report stem from a booster giving a players dad $180,000 for a "no-show job" and for ex-LSU receiver and current Los Angeles Rams star Odell Beckham Jr. openly handing out money after the Tigers victory over Clemson in the 2020 National Championship game.
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According to SI's report, the university predictably didn't respond to their story, but if the NCAA does decide to hand down any major punishment on Wade, the university can fire him justifiably due to a contract amendment he signed back in April of 2019 as a basis for reinstatement back into the program.
While many things remain up in the air as to what LSU and the NCAA will do, the Tigers (21-10) are gearing up for another run in March and are currently slated as the 6th seed in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament according to Andy Katz.
LSU has more than a month to file any response to the NCAA's charges. The governing body for college athletics has only found one out of six schools that were implicated in the FBI's corruption case since the IARP's formation.
Wade's team awaits the winner of Ole Miss-Mizzou who plays tonight at 6 p.m. EST in the first round of the SEC Tournament.
Follow Jasper Jones on Twitter: @jonesj2342
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