McNeese State’s recently hired men’s basketball coach Will Wade has been suspended for 10 games next season, ending a lengthy NCAA investigation into the football and basketball programs at Louisiana State, the Southeastern Conference powerhouse formerly coached by Wade.
A review panel on Thursday ruled that LSU failed to monitor its programs, which were found to have funneled improper payments to a recruit, paid money to keep recruiting violations quiet and allowed NFL star Odell Beckham Jr., a former receiver LSU , to hand out cash rations to players after the national championship football game in January 2020.
But the independent arbitrators did little to add to the sanctions imposed by the school itself beyond extending the university’s probation by three years. They also did not report Wade on the most notorious charge: brazen schemes to lure recruits with illegal payments, described by Wade in a federal wiretap first reported by Yahoo and later aired in an HBO documentary.
But because the NCAA said the federal government rejected its efforts to obtain tapes or transcripts, the commission didn’t have enough reliable information to punish Wade for it, according to Bruce Meyerson, a retired judge who chaired the independent panel.
Another official complaint dismissed for insufficient evidence was that Wade directed payments from a bank account in his wife’s name to a friend of a recruit’s family, who in return would steer the prospect to LSU, but Wade successfully argued that because he was not an authorized user of the account shared by his wife and mother, he could not compel them to turn over the account records to NCAA investigators.
The committee also found no credible evidence of the official complaint alleging that a former assistant coach, Bill Armstrong, had offered to provide a recruit’s family or associates with $300,000 in cash, as well as a job, an apartment and a car for the recruits. cousin of the player.
The most serious violation was Wade’s failure to notify university officials of an alleged extortion attempt in which the former fiancee of a onetime player threatened to go to the NCAA with a list of recruiting violations Wade had committed.
In the end, however, Wade was mostly punished for lying, misrepresentation, and repeated delays in handing over documents to the investigation.
In addition to the 10-game suspension, Wade has no off-campus recruits and has been placed on other recruiting restrictions for two years, but those restrictions may have less of an impact on a team that relies more on the transfer portal to build its roster .
The NCAA decision ends a drama that began more than four years ago, when Yahoo reported a federal wiretap that captured Wade saying he had made “a big offer” to Javonte Smart, who played at LSU and then for a little bit. in the NBA
Wade was suspended for the 2019 NCAA Tournament after refusing to speak with LSU, but was reinstated a month later. “You need evidence to destroy someone’s career,” F. King Alexander, the former LSU president, told The New York Times last year, adding: “Presidents have to follow due process rights. Did they pay players? On my gut, I would say, yes, but my gut doesn’t do very well in a jury trial.”
Ultimately, however, Wade was fired just before the 2022 NCAA Tournament when LSU was notified of the allegations by the NCAA
He was hired a year and a day later at McNeese State, which became the latest school to bring buzz to a lifeless program by hiring a coach embroiled in a federal corruption sting. Iona had recruited Rick Pitino and Xavier brought in Sean Miller for a second stint there after his stint at Arizona. Pitino has since moved to St. John’s.
The day after Wade was hired, McNeese State announced he would serve a five-game suspension. There was little disappointment Thursday from the school, which is tucked away in Lake Charles, La., in the southwest corner of the state.
Athletic director Heath Sroyer did not return a phone message but said in a statement that his school, which has not had a winning record in men’s basketball since the 2011-12 season, accepted the decision and was ready to move on. .
“Excitement around this program is at an all-time high,” he said. “And we are all excited about the future of McNeese Basketball with Coach leading the way.”
