Latest Weather Blog
LSU closes book on Will Wade saga as NCAA hands down punishment for recruiting violations
Related Story
BATON ROUGE - LSU's athletic department was hit with three years probation and a fine after an NCAA investigation into recruiting violation within the school's football and basketball programs.
The decision effectively marks the end of LSU's troubles regarding former basketball coach Will Wade, who was at the center of a nationwide recruiting scandal regarding illegal payments made to recruits. Wade was fired from LSU last year as the NCAA investigation started building steam.
The fine announced Thursday amounts to a half-percent of the basketball and football programs' average annual budgets. Wade ,currently coaching at McNeese State, was also given a 10-game suspension from the NCAA as a result of the investigation.
Additionally, LSU football will have to vacate all of its wins from 2012 to 2015 due to payments made to an athlete and his family.
The punishment is in addition to penalties that were self-imposed by LSU in 2020 — after the university caught wind of the NCAA probe — which included sitting out the 2020-2021 postseason and recruiting restrictions.
Alright as best I can tell, LSU gets away with it.
— Michael Cauble (@Cauble) June 22, 2023
Football gets time served with self-imposed penalties of postseason ban (21) and 8 schollys (21 &22 4 each)
OBJ can't come around anymore
Hoops - 2 scholly's (24 &25 1 each)
Wade gets 2 year show cause and 10 game suspension
The three-year probation is set to begin in September, after the school finishes out its current probationary period that was imposed last year.
Read the full announcement here.
LSU released the following statement Thursday afternoon.
The more than five-year enforcement process involving the LSU’s men’s basketball and football programs has now come to an end. LSU has always taken compliance with NCAA rules seriously, and the institution fully cooperated with the NCAA enforcement staff and then with members of the Complex Case Unit as part of the Independent Accountability Resolution Process. We are pleased that our current men’s basketball student-athletes will not be punished for the acts of others and that the Independent Resolution Panel accepted our self-imposed penalties for football. We are grateful to the members of the panel for their time and fairness. LSU is now moving forward along with our passionate fans supporting our current coaches and student-athletes in both men’s basketball and football.
William F. Tate IV, LSU President
Scott Woodward, LSU Director of Athletics
News
