With March Madness around the corner, the NCAA has found themselves in many allegations of collegiate basketball players receiving loans.

Yahoo Sports leaked numerous documents and bank records that were obtained in many FBI investigations. These documents exposed at least 20 D1 programs and more than 25 current and past players that violated NCAA rules by receiving funds from ASM Sports’ NBA agent Andy Miller. These “loans” were payments that ranged in four to five-figure digits.

NCAA president Mark Emmert was not too pleased with the negative light that was shined on this organization, and released a statement Friday morning addressing the violations:

“These allegations, if true, point to systematic failures that must be fixed and fixed now if we want college sports in America,” said Mark Emmert. “Simply put, people who engage in this kind of behavior have no place in college sports. They are an affront to all those who play by the rules,”

There were many big-name basketball programs that were mentioned that took part in this misconduct during the secretive recruiting process: Duke, North Carolina, Michigan State, Kentucky, South Carolina, Alabama and Texas.

Yahoo Sports reached out to N.C State, Seton Hall, Maryland, Kentucky and Washington, and all of these programs declined to speak on the subject.

“We learned of the report this morning and it is the first we’ve heard about this information,” said North Carolina State director of athletics Debbie Yow. “The report involves an agent N.C. State disassociated with in 2012. Of course, we will fully cooperate with any investigations or inquiries.”

The expense reports for each player listed loans that were invested into their entertainment, travel, and families dated back to Dec. 31, 2015. Here are some of the players that were listed on the documents:

  • Dennis Smith-  recruited by North Carolina State to play in 2016-17 would receive $43,500. He would receive a total of $73,500 in loans, but it was noted “options to recoup the money” when Smith did not go through signing with ASM Sports Agency.
  • Isaiah Whitehead- During Whitehead’s freshman year at Seton Hall, he received $26,136.
  • Tim Quarterman- During Quarterman’s junior year at LSU, he received at least $16,000.
  • Diamond Stone- Received $14,303 Stone’s freshman year.
  • Markelle Fultz- Received $10,000; however, Fultz did not sign with ASM Sports Agency.

These allegations are still under investigation with the FBI. This is a crucial time for all programs being a contender with playoffs tipping off in days. Many of their star athletes, like Collin Sexton, could possibly be sitting out due to ineligibility if true. 

 

(Photo Credit: www.metro.us.com)