Assistant coaches from four major colleges were arrested Tuesday as part of an FBI investigation into corruption in college basketball, but those programs are not alone.
The FBI complaint includes payments totaling $100,000 to an unnamed recruit by an unnamed school. The facts in the complaint make it clear that the school is Louisville and the recruit, according to multiple reports, is five-star prospect Brian Bowen, who committed to play for Rick Pitino and the Cardinals in June.
ESPN sources confirmed that “School 6” in the complaint is Louisville, and the school later confirmed it with an official statement.
“Today, the University of Louisville received notice that it is included in a federal investigation involving criminal activity related to men’s basketball recruiting,” the statement said. “While we are just learning about this information, this is a serious concern that goes to the heart of our athletic department and the university. UofL is committed to ethical behavior and adherence to NCAA rules; any violations will not be tolerated. We will cooperate fully with any law enforcement or NCAA investigation into the matter.”
Pitino also released a statement.
“These allegations come as a complete shock to me,” he said. “If true, I agree with the U.S. Attorneys Office that these third-party schemes, initiated by a few bad actors, operated to commit a fraud on the impacted universities and their basketball programs, including the University of Louisville. Our fans and supporters deserve better and I am committed to taking whatever steps are needed to ensure those responsible are held accountable.”
The crux of the investigation is this: College coaches worked with third-party representatives to pay players and influence where they committed to play basketball. Shoe companies and “advisers” — since prospective players can’t have agents — have long been known to influence where top players decide to attend college, but this investigation alleges damning details about the corruption in the sport.
The investigation revealed that the $100,000 was paid in four installments from “University-6” (Louisville) and funneled through “Company-1,” which is Adidas, to “Player-10.” Louisville has an endorsement deal with Adidas. FBI agent John Vourderis said in a sworn statement, “Shortly after the agreement with the family of Player-10 was reached in late May or early June, Player-10 publicly committed to University-6.”
“I don’t know anything about that,” Bowen’s mother, Carrie Malecke, told the Courier-Journal. “I don’t know anything about that. I’m not aware of anything like that. Not me. I had no idea.”
Bowen, who is the No. 19 player in the Class of 2017, according to the 247Sports composite rankings, committed to Louisville on June 3. That was a bit of a surprise. Michigan State was long considered the leader to land Bowen, until very late in the process. Bowen named Louisville his leader the day before he committed.
There is also a second incident involving what appears to be a Louisville coach being videotaped in a Las Vegas hotel room negotiating a payout for a high school player who will graduate in 2019, according to WDRB.com.
No coaches from Louisville were named, and no charges have been brought at this point. Assistant coaches at Arizona, Oklahoma State, Southern California and Auburn were arrested on federal corruption charges.
Louisville’s basketball program is on probation, and has dealt with a pair of embarrassing scandals. Head coach Pitino is suspended for the first five ACC conference games of Louisville’s 2017-18 season and wins were vacated because of a sex scandal that included basketball operations director Andre McGee hiring escorts to strip for and have sex with Cardinals players and prospective recruits. Louisville is appealing, but if the NCAA’s ruling is not overturned, the Cardinals’ 2013 championship will be among the wins the program has to vacate.
In 2009, Pitino admitted to having a consensual affair six years earlier and paying for an abortion after the woman claimed he had raped her and tried to extort $10 million from him.