N.C. State became the first school mentioned in the FBI probe into college basketball corruption to receive an NCAA Notice of Allegations. The notice included two Level I violations, the most severe the NCAA can hand down. The framing in this case could be an indication of what is to come for other schools and coaches named during the federal trials.
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The violations at N.C. State occurred during Mark Gottfried’s coaching tenure between 2014-17 and were related to the recruitment of highly ranked point guard Dennis Smith Jr. The most significant allegation was that a $40,000 payment was orchestrated to Smith’s family by former assistant coach Orlando Early provided by former Adidas representative T.J. Gassnola. Smith’s former trainer Shawn Farmer allegedly received the payment from Early to give to Smith’s family. Early was also cited with providing an additional 150 complimentary admissions on the men’s basketball pass list to Farmer and Smith’s family and friends with an estimated value of $6,681.
Gottfried, who is currently the head coach at Cal State Northridge, was charged with a Level I violation summed up as a failure to monitor his staff. The notice says the enforcement staff believes the Committee on Infractions could issue a show-cause judgment against Gottfried, which could put current and future employment in jeopardy. A show-cause was also suggested for Early, which means any sanctions that are levied against him would endure for the duration of the penalty. It is meant to prevent coaches from escaping punishment by simply changing schools.
Gottfried’s attorney Elliot Abrams in an emailed message to reporters says that he will continue to cooperate with the NCAA: “While we disagree with the enforcement staff’s position that Coach Gottfried did not adequately monitor certain aspects of his program, we are pleased that the NCAA agrees that he was not involved in any illicit payments.”
The FBI arrested four assistant coaches during its investigation, but the charges presented in the N.C. State notice could signal that the NCAA is ready to hold head coaches accountable regardless of the cloak of plausible deniability they might keep.
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The notice also detailed two Level II violations. The program was cited for giving out a combined 14 complimentary tickets to two grassroots basketball coaches Stanley Bland and Keith Stevens between January and March 2016. Because of the abuse of comp tickets, the fourth violation was a failure to adequately monitor the program’s distribution of complimentary admissions. It is worth mentioning that N.C. State did not get hit with a lack of institutional control, so it is possible the program has dodged a potentially program crippling penalty.
None of the individuals named in the Notice of Allegations remained at N.C. State past the 2016-17 season. Even Debbie Yow, who served as athletic director during the span in question, retired in May. Boo Corrigan replaced Yow. Kevin Keatts replaced Gottfried and brought in a new staff.
Smith turned pro after one year and the Dallas Mavericks made him the ninth overall pick in the NBA Draft. Smith currently plays for the New York Knicks. The Memphis Grizzlies hired Early as a scout. Gottfried was hired in March 2018 at Northridge, in spite of the fact his former school’s recruitment of Smith had been publicly implicated in the FBI’s investigation. Gottfried finished his first season with the Matadors with a 13-21 record.
The university released a statement that mentioned it has cooperated with the NCAA throughout the investigation that began with a Notice of Inquiry in October 2018. The release reiterated that allegations were not tied to the current coaching staff: “All four allegations are tied to former coaches who were well educated about the rules and knew the rules, and if the allegations are true, those coaches chose to break the rules.”
When reached by text, Keatts declined to comment and referred to the university’s statement that included a comment from Chancellor Randy Woodson: “As the university carefully reviews the NCAA’s allegations and thoroughly evaluates the evidence in order to determine our response, we are prepared to be accountable where we believe it is appropriate and to vigorously defend this great university and its athletics program where we feel it is necessary.”
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Barring self-imposed penalties, it is unlikely that any action would be taken resulting from this Notice of Allegations during the 2019-20 season for the Wolfpack. N.C. State, which received the notice Tuesday before releasing it Wednesday, has 90 days to submit a written response. Between responses, hearings and possible appeals, it could take a calendar year before the Committee on Infractions issues a final verdict in the case.
The next program to receive a Notice of Allegations won’t take that long. CBS Sports reported last month that Stan Wilcox, the NCAA vice president for regulatory affairs, said six schools could receive a Notice of Allegations as soon as this summer and more could follow. That six could include Auburn, Oklahoma State, USC and Arizona, which each had an assistant coach arrested in the FBI investigation. Louisville and LSU were also schools heavily implicated during the course of the trials that resulted. So far, the only head coach to lose his job as fallout from the investigation is Rick Pitino at Louisville. That could soon change with the NCAA hinting at show-cause penalties.
(Photo: Lance King / Getty Images)