The USC men’s basketball program received a two-year probation from the NCAA on Thursday as a result of the investigation into a former assistant coach accepting a bribe from a management company.
But the Trojans avoided any devastating penalties like a postseason ban. Instead, USC was fined $5,000 plus 1% of the men’s basketball program budget by the NCAA.
The Division I Committee on Infractions, which classified this case as a Level I violation, also accepted several self-imposed penalties, such as a loss of two scholarships for the 2018-19 season and reductions of official visits and in-person recruiting days during that academic year.
Former USC associate head coach Tony Bland also received a three-year show-cause from the NCAA. It was Bland who pleaded guilty to accepting a $4,100 bribe to direct student-athletes to an agent’s management company upon entering the NBA. Bland was arrested in Sept. 2017 following an FBI investigation into the matter and entered his plea in Jan. 2019.
The infractions committee concluded that both Bland and USC committed Level I violations due to “unethical conduct and representing an individual in marketing athletics ability or reputation.”
“The associate head coach demonstrated a recurring lack of judgment that resulted in unethical conduct and representation violations for both himself and USC,” the Committee on Infractions said in a statement.
The committee did acknowledge that, “unlike other individuals in similar cases,” Bland cooperated with the investigation and provided information to help it reach these conclusions. The committee also described USC’s cooperation in the matter as “exemplary” while noting that the program’s self-imposed penalties three years ago were in line with NCAA guidelines.
Committee member Vincent Nicastro said in a press conference Thursday that the NCAA enforcement staff recommended the “exemplary” categorization for USC’s cooperation after working with the university during the course of the investigation.
“It’s a very high bar in my experience in order to get that recommendation,” said Nicastro, the deputy commissioner of the Big East Conference. “The school has to perform at a very high level in terms of their cooperation and participation. When enforcement staff recommends that to the COI panel, we give a great deal of deference to that.”
Nicastro added that the cooperation of USC and Bland helped the committee in making its decision. The committee noted that while USC was hurt by its past history of violations, it was also buoyed by the department’s history of self-reporting Level II and III violations.
In a statement, USC athletic director Mike Bohn expressed pride in the athletic department’s handling of the situation, while noting that USC has worked to expand its compliance program since his arrival in 2019.
“The NCAA’s findings, comments and acceptance of our self-imposed penalties are a reflection of our commitment to accountability, integrity and transparency,” Bohn stated. “We are thrilled this matter is now behind us, and our focus remains on being the most student-athlete centered program in the country.”
USC head coach Andy Enfield expressed a similar sentiment, adding in a statement, “This was a comprehensive process, and we are looking forward to moving on.”
As part of its probation, USC will be required to develop an educational program on NCAA legislation for all coaches and athletic department personnel. USC must submit a plan for implementing this program to the NCAA by June 1.
USC will also be required to inform all men’s basketball prospects in writing that USC is on probation and with an explanation of the violations committed.
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