COLOMBIA, SC (AP) – The South Carolina men’s basketball program was placed on probation for two years by the NCAA on Thursday for former assistant coach Lamont Evans to accept $ 9,100 in bribes from a sports agent.
The NCAA decision ended South Carolina’s role in the college basketball corruption case that began in 2017.
Gamecocks avoided more serious penalties as a post-season ban on what the NCAA considered a Level I infraction case. South Carolina coach Frank Martin was not named in any NCAA charges.
“We moved on and I am grateful to have that situation behind,” said Martin in a statement.
Evans worked in South Carolina for four seasons before leaving for Oklahoma after the 2015/16 season. He pleaded guilty to bribery conspiracy for taking about $ 22,000 to direct basketball candidates to the school in Columbia.
The NCAA said the case was resolved using a cooperative summary provision, a process in which the parties involved collectively submit the case to the committee in writing. All participating parties must agree with the facts of the case for this process to be used instead of a formal hearing.
The committee classified the case as Level I mitigated for the school and Level I aggravated for the former assistant coach.
Along with parole, the NCAA has accepted self-imposed sanctions by South Carolina, including a reduction in unofficial visits by candidates this season and the next, a six-week ban on telephone recruitment and a $ 5,000 fine.
South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner said he was proud of his department’s response to the NCAA. He said the NCAA’s choice to accept the sanctions proposed by the school validates the work done by his team and the men’s basketball.
“As soon as we became aware of this situation, we were proactive in determining what happened and worked in cooperation with the Department of Justice and the NCAA,” said Tanner.
Martin said from the beginning that he was unaware of Evans’ actions. “I conduct my program with transparency, an open-door policy and with integrity,” he said. “It is in my heart and in the center of who I am.”
South Carolina received the NCAA notice of allegations in January 2020.
The NCAA imposed a 10-year show cause order for Evans, meaning that any school that tries to hire him should restrict him from any sport-related duties, unless it shows the reason why the restrictions should not be applied.
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