New details of payments to athletes in a federal investigation mark the latest threat to college basketball’s basic foundation, showing the breadth of alleged corruption.
Bank records and other expense reports that are part of the investigation list a wide range of impermissible payments from agents to at least two dozen players or their relatives, according to documents obtained by Yahoo Sports.
The depth of the violations raises questions about the structure of college athletics, a business funded primarily through college football and basketball, including $19.6 billion in TV money for the NCAA tournament over the last 22 years.
NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a statement Friday the allegations “if true, point to systematic failures that must be fixed and fixed now if we want college sports in America.”
Yahoo said Friday that the documents obtained in discovery during the investigation link current players including Michigan State’s Miles Bridges, Duke’s Wendell Carter and Alabama’s Collin Sexton to potential benefits that would be violations of NCAA rules.
Michigan State and Duke officials said Friday they didn’t believe their players did anything wrong, and Alabama coach Avery Johnson said Sexton, who was held out of the season opener for violating NCAA rules, will play Saturday against Arkansas.
According to the report, players over the last several years and family members allegedly received cash, entertainment and travel expenses from former NBA agent Andy Miller and his agency ASM Sports. Line items in four pages of documents released by Yahoo showed a wide range, including some five-figure payments and two dinners for less than $40 each.
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