Former LSU men’s basketball coach Will Wade suspended for 10 games

Will Wade, the men’s college basketball coach recently hired by McNeese State, is suspended for 10 games next season, ending a lengthy NCAA investigation into the football and basketball programs at Southeastern Conference powerhouse Louisiana State who Wade previously coached.

A review panel ruled Thursday that LSU failed to monitor its marquee programs, which were found to have improperly funneled payments to a recruit, paid hush money to keep recruiting violations quiet and NFL star Odell Beckham Jr., a former LSU wide receiver , to hand out wads of money to players after the national football match in January 2020.

But the independent arbitrators contributed little to the school’s self-imposed punishments, beyond extending the university’s probation by three years. Nor did they name Wade for the most notorious charge: brazen schemes to lure recruits with unauthorized payments, described by Wade on a federal wiretap, which was first reported by Yahoo and later aired in an HBO documentary.

But because the NCAA said the federal government rejected its efforts to obtain recordings or transcripts, the panel didn’t have enough credible information to punish Wade for it, according to Bruce Meyerson, a retired judge who chaired the independent panel.

Another formal complaint dismissed due to insufficient evidence was that Wade forwarded payments from a bank account in his wife’s name to a friend of a recruit’s family, who in return would send the prospect to LSU. But Wade successfully argued that because he was not an authorized user of the account jointly operated by his wife and his mother, he could not compel them to turn over the account information to NCAA investigators.

The panel also found no credible evidence of the formal complaint alleging that a former assistant coach, Bill Armstrong, 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 recruit. cousin of the player.

The most serious offense was Wade’s failure to notify college officials of an alleged extortion attempt in which a one-time player’s former fiancé threatened to go to the NCAA with a list of recruiting violations Wade had committed.

But in the end, Wade was mostly punished for lies, misleading statements and repeated delays in handing over documents in the investigation.

In addition to the 10-game suspension, Wade is prohibited from recruiting off-campus and has other recruiting restrictions imposed for two years, but those restrictions may have less impact on a team that relies more on the transfer portal to build its roster.

The NCAA’s decision ends a drama that began more than four years ago when Yahoo reported on a federal wiretapping that captured Wade, saying he made a “strong offer” to Javonte Smart, who played at LSU and then briefly with the NBA

Wade was suspended from the 2019 NCAA Tournament after refusing to talk to LSU, but reinstated a month later. “You need evidence to ruin someone’s career,” F. King Alexander, the former LSU president, told The New York Times last year, adding, “Presidents must follow due process rights. Did he pay players? In 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 kick-start a lifeless program by hiring a coach swept up in a federal corruption sting. Iona had hired Rick Pitino and Xavier brought in Sean Miller for a second tenure there after his run in Arizona ended. Pitino has since moved to St. John’s.

The day after McNeese State hired Wade, it announced that he would serve a five-game suspension. On Thursday, there was little disappointment from the school, which is tucked away in Lake Charles, La., in the southwest corner of the state.

The athletic director, Heath Schroyer, did not return a call, but he 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 forward.

“The enthusiasm surrounding this program is at an all-time high,” he said. “And we’re all excited about the future of McNeese Basketball with the coach leading the way.”