The news first was reported by CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein, who also said the Tigers have tapped assistant Kevin Nickelberry to serve as ...
Wade is not expected to be paid out any of the remaining money on his deal.— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 12, 2022 LSU has gone 22-11 this season and is likely to receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. March 12, 2022 pic.twitter.com/mMoJfBmqV9 March 12, 2022 March 12, 2022 March 12, 2022
Here are some potential coaches the Tigers could look at after moving on from Wade after five seasons.
Miller is just 39 and didn’t do much in his first year at Cincinnati, but he took UNC Greensboro to the NCAA Tournament in 2021. Despite that, his name has to be on the list given his ties to the SEC, Woodward and Louisiana. He has spent the last seven seasons at Murray State and led it to the NCAA Tournament twice already, and he’s now put together his best season yet. He’s on the younger side at just 45, so he might feel more comfortable taking on a looming rebuild at LSU than some other guys would be. If LSU feels the sanctions will be really bad, then Woodward may also opt to stick with interim Kevin Nickelberry for a year while LSU plans for the bigger picture down the road. Williams is in the midst of his best season with the Aggies, and they’ve been known to throw some money around in College Station, too. It might be tough for him to leave unless Scott Woodward can sell him on LSU being a better job and, maybe more importantly, that the NCAA issues will not persist with Wade gone. In football, Scott Woodward showed some hesitation when it came to hiring a younger guy at a smaller program. He’s conducted a football, baseball, and women’s basketball search since he took the job at LSU, and he’s hired a sitting Power Five coach in all of them. On Saturday, the news broke that LSU and fifth-year basketball coach Will Wade would be heading in separate directions. The sharks can only be fought off for so long and for Wade, that fight ended on Saturday. Either way, that will be a critical point in this search.
Coach Will Wade was fired Saturday, but the saga is far from over for LSU or for Wade.
The ability to transfer without penalty and the lure of name, image and likeness benefits at other schools could provide a pull to the NCAA transfer portal. The estimated timetable for a decision from the IARP is about eight months, meaning the next coach will come to LSU knowing that some type of NCAA punishment looms, likely including scholarship restrictions. Anyone who hires Wade will have to answer for the catalog of alleged violations detailed above, as well as a failure to monitor his staff and promote an atmosphere of compliance. LSU's three leading scorers are a pair of seniors and a sophomore, Tari Eason, who is expected to declare for the NBA draft. In a restructured contract, Wade forfeited $250,000 in performance bonuses he had earned in the 2018-19 season and agreed the school could fire him with cause -- and not pay him anything in severance -- if he was accused of a Level I or Level II violation. There's a charge that Wade made payments to a recruit via a joint bank account in the name of Wade's spouse, sent text messages to Wade's wife that contradict what he told investigators, and in general a persistent defiance in cooperating with the investigation. NC State was placed on one year of probation and former coach Mark Gottfried was given a one-year show cause in December. Former Baylor coach Dave Bliss, who was accused of providing impermissible benefits and trying to cover up the murder of one of his players by another player, eventually went on to coach at an NAIA school. It's worth noting that there are seven aggravating factors listed in the notice of allegations, an unusually high amount. And that's what makes the latest notice of allegations to emerge from the federal basketball cases so noteworthy. The notice alleges that Wade cheated even after knowing he'd be in the crosshairs when the federal basketball investigation came to light in 2017. What factors will determine the severity of the penalty?
LSU has fired men's basketball coach Will Wade, and released the notice of allegations it received from the NCAA earlier this month. Jon Rothstein of CBS ...
Earlier this week, SI’s Pat Forde reported LSU received a notice of allegations for its role in the corruption case. LSU has fired men’s basketball coach Will Wade, and released the notice of allegations it received from the NCAA earlier this month. However, he was also investigated throughout his tenure, amid the FBI’s crack down of corruption in college basketball.
After five long years of rumors, allegations and wins, LSU announced it has fired Will Wade and associate head coach Bill Armstrong in a statement from LSU ...
Redacted details of all the allegations have been released to the public. In the NCAA's notice of allegations to— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) #LSU, Will Wade was cited for at least four Level 1 violations, per documents obtained by @SINow. pic.twitter.com/3PpIE0eBHO March 12, 2022 — Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger)— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) #LSUstatement from president William Tate and AD Scott Woodward related to Will Wade and the NCAA investigation.
LSU fired Wade with the NCAA men's tourney beginning on Thursday.
Missouri being the other conference opening is a stark contrast to LSU. While the former home of Pete Maravich has a richer basketball history, having lower expectations and being the savior from the 21st century doldrums for a once-storied program could be a great gig for Murray State’s Matt McMahon or Drake’s Darian DeVries. Missouri has never been to a Final Four and hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game in over a decade. Maybe Woodward would hire the last guy he filled for a men’s basketball vacancy, Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams, who led the Aggies from the bubble to the NCAA Tournament during this week’s Southeastern Conference Tournament. For the attractive mid-major coaches, money could bring them to LSU, as most will see a significant pay raise. LSU athletic director Scott Woodward has built his reputation breaking the bank with his coaching hires to bring in a proven winner, no matter the financial cost. Wishful thinking would point to Scott Drew as a national-championship-winning coach, especially with the Big 12’s uncertain future. The NCAA notice of allegations, per multiple reports, show there are eight Level I violations, the most severe penalty, against LSU, and seven directly tied to the men’s basketball program. After taking the Tigers’ helm in March 2017, all but six months of Wade’s tenure has been overshadowed by the federal investigation into college basketball, which became public that September with Wade’s name heavily connected to the inquiry.
On the doorstep of the NCAA Tournament and on the heels of another round of allegations, LSU has fired head basketball coach Will Wade, according to ...
The NCAA notice of allegations, which was obtained by ESPN, contains eight Level I violations against LSU. Seven of those are associated with the men’s basketball program and the other with the Tigers’ football team. This will be the second time that Wade has left the team before March Madness. He was suspended in 2019 for the SEC and NCAA tournaments after he was caught, through a federal wiretap, mentioning a “strong-ass offer” to a recruit. In the days after the school received a notice of allegations from the Independent Accountability Review Process – which is handling investigations of impropriety for the NCAA – LSU said goodbye to a coach who had led the Tigers to a 22-11 season that will finish in the NCAA Tournament.
Wade has been with the Tigers program since 2017 and has produced a 105-51 overall record and he led LSU to NCAA tournament berths in 2019 and 2021. This ...
Let's step back and consider the collateral damage that came with LSU's brazen enabling of Will Wade's four-year con job.
Will Wade will never coach college basketball again, and the profession will be better because of it. But after Wade changed course and met with the school and NCAA investigators, LSU caved in the face of aggressive lawyering and kept him employed. But when the school’s response to the media was that Beckham was handing out fake money, it showed that its first institutional instinct was to brazenly lie. The CCU threw both at LSU, and Wade in particular. Another allegation: In 2020, well after Wade was under the microscope for the wiretap, he and assistant coach Bill Armstrong provided an array of impermissible benefits. Wade became the face—and voice—of it. LSU apologists who tried to explain away the wiretap are going to really be taxed when it comes to dismissing this one. The NCAA Enforcement staff, and later the Complex Case Unit of the Independent Accountability Review Process, methodically built its case. Watching the team accept the trophy in Nashville as the regular-season champion while their coach was back home in Baton Rouge would humiliate a coach with any credibility. LSU chose the dishonest route, and stuck to it. Wade was going to NCAA tournaments while they were pushed out of the profession. Is he still the coach at Maryland if Wade’s team didn’t stand in the way of that tournament run?
Will Wade was accused by N.C.A.A. regulators of offering cash and jobs to lure recruits.
Wade is the first head coach to be fired following a direct accusation by the N.C.A.A. in the scheme. Rick Pitino was ousted almost immediately at Louisville, where the accusations that he had approved payments to a recruit — which Pitino has denied — were the last in a series of embarrassing indiscretions there. Ultimately, it was mostly assistant coaches and low-level associates who paid the price in the criminal justice system. Wade and his associate head coach, Bill Armstrong, were dismissed one day after the Tigers lost to Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinals. Their statement also said the decision to fire Wade and Armstrong is not an acknowledgment of agreement with any of the allegations, to which the school is in the process of responding. Assistant coaches at Southern California, Auburn, Oklahoma State and Arizona were convicted in a bribery scheme, as were two shoe company associates and an aspiring agent. “I certainly look forward to commenting when it’s all over, but until then, they won’t allow us to comment,” he said. Armstrong offering to provide a recruit’s family or associates with $300,000 cash (in $50,000 installments) as well as providing a job, an apartment and a car for the player’s cousin. Included with the recent men’s basketball accusations by the N.C.A.A. are also allegations that a booster paid $180,000 to the father of a former football player for a sham job, and that former L.S.U. star Odell Beckham Jr., provided approximately $2,000 in cash to players after they had won the national championship game in 2020. Wade was suspended for the Tigers’ postseason games in 2019 over his refusal to cooperate with L.S.U. officials, but was reinstated a month later after he met with administrators and agreed to an addendum to his contract that would allow the school to fire him with cause if he was found to have committed Level I or Level II violations, the most serious offenses. The notice of allegations also says Wade obstructed the investigation by refusing to turn over thousands of records, and that in three interviews with investigators he knowingly provided false or misleading information. Louisiana State abruptly fired men’s basketball coach Will Wade on Saturday, less than a week after the school received a notice of allegations from the N.C.A.A. that accused Wade of five major rules violations, including making cash payments and job offers to help lure a recruit to the school.
LSU received an official Notice of Allegations for potential rules violations in the basketball and football programs on Tuesday. The Tigers basketball team ...
Notably, our decision to terminate Coach Wade and Coach Armstrong is not an acknowledgement of agreement with any of the allegations. We know that the LSU community will rally around our program and our student-athletes, none of whom are alleged to have been involved in any misconduct. Our responsibility to protect and promote the integrity and well-being of our entire institution and our student-athletes will always be paramount. Throughout that time, the University and its men’s basketball program have operated under an exhausting shroud of negativity. We can no longer subject our University, Department of Athletics, and—most importantly—our student-athletes, to this taxing and already-lengthy process without taking action. After receiving the Notice earlier this week, we took several days to fully evaluate it and engage in deliberate and thoughtful discussions about our next steps.
LSU has fired head basketball coach Will Wade and associate head coach Bill Armstrong on Saturday, March 12, university officials said.
Our responsibility to protect and promote the integrity and well-being of our entire institution and our student-athletes will always be paramount.” We can no longer subject our University, Department of Athletics, and—most importantly—our student-athletes, to this taxing and already-lengthy process without taking action. This comes after LSU confirmed on Wednesday, March 9, that it had received the NCAA notice of allegations.
LSU fired men's basketball coach Will Wade and associate head coach Bill Armstrong for cause Saturday, four days after the university received a detailed, ...
Wade and Armstrong went to watch a high school state basketball state tournament, which included a game that featured the player in question. The NCAA determined this was a Level I violation that could command a show-cause penalty for Wade. After the game, Wade and Armstrong met with the family at a restaurant. The money, according to the allegation, came out of a bank account in the name of Wade's wife. This specific allegation is outlined in the NOA as the first of the seven charges against the men's basketball team, and was determined to be a Level I violation. The Level I allegation involving Armstrong came after Wade’s suspension. Wade’s alleged insubordination and failure to cooperate spanned much longer than those 37 days, according to the NOA, which is also a Level I violation. The NCAA determined this was a Level I violation that could command a show-cause penalty for Wade. Wade, according to the NOA, was repeatedly asked to produce thousands of records and he declined, only doing so on Aug. 20, 2021 — nearly three years after the NCAA first requested them. (Please) contact me by the end of the day or I will have to take them up on the offer.” Wade responded by telling her to call him. According to the notice of allegations, obtained by The Advocate on Saturday through a public records request, 11 violations were outlined, including eight Level I violations — seven of which solely pertain to men's basketball. "We can no longer subject our university, department of athletics, and — most importantly — our student-athletes, to this taxing and already-lengthy process without taking action," they wrote.
Will Wade went 108-51 as the Tigers' coach, but his tenure was overshadowed by an NCAA investigation into the men's basketball program.
“I can’t comment on any of that stuff," Wade said Thursday at the SEC Tournament. "We haven’t been able to comment on it since everything started. LSU's final game before the NCAA Tournament was an SEC Tournament quarterfinals loss to Arkansas. "We can no longer subject our University, Department of Athletics, and—most importantly—our student-athletes, to this taxing and already-lengthy process without taking action."
Wade's controversial tenure as LSU's coach is over after the NCAA accused him of major violations this week.
The notice of allegations alleges that "Wade's conduct was deliberate and committed after substantial planning" and details how he offered financial inducements to secure commitments from players. Our responsibility to protect and promote the integrity and well-being of our entire institution and our student-athletes will always be paramount." Nickelberry is a former head coach at Hampton and Howard. The Tigers are a projected No. 6 seed for the NCAA Tournament, according to CBS Sports Bracketology Expert Jerry Palm.
The FBI wiretap was part of a widespread federal investigation into corruption in college basketball, which also ensnared programs at Louisville, Alabama, ...
LSU was also cited for a lack of institutional control and failure to monitor its men’s basketball and football programs. “Notably, our decision to terminate Coach Wade and Coach Armstrong is not an acknowledgement of agreement with any of the allegations. Wade is also accused of obstructing the NCAA investigation, as well as unethical conduct. LSU suspended Wade for several games at the end of the 2019 season, but reinstated him a month later. The move comes three days after news broke that the school had received an NCAA notice of allegations regarding alleged rules violations in the basketball and football programs. Our responsibility to protect and promote the integrity and well-being of our entire institution and our student-athletes will always be paramount.
LSU has parted ways with coach Will Wade. The move comes four days after the school received a Notice of Allegations outlining major violations allegedly ...
LSU lost 79-67 to Arkansas Friday in the SEC tournament quarterfinals. "After receiving the Notice earlier this week, we took several days to fully evaluate it and engage in deliberate and thoughtful discussions about our next steps." The coaches were fired after a scathing notice of allegations from the NCAA, first reported Tuesday, charged Wade with five Level I violations including allegations of paying players, attempting to pay others for their silence and failing to cooperate with the investigation, among other charges.
The firing means that Wade, who was in his fifth season at LSU, will not coach in the upcoming NCAA tournament. The Tigers are projected as a No. 6 seed in the ...
The NCAA also accused Wade of making payments in April 2018 to an individual who had influence in a prospect's decision on where he would play in college. In October 2020, LSU self-imposed the loss of eight scholarships over two years, reduced recruiting visits, evaluations and communication, and banned Beckham from its football facilities for two years. Dawkins was the subject of an FBI investigation into bribes and other corruption in college basketball. LSU is not expected to pay Wade any of the money remaining on his contract because of those amendments. "Specifically, Armstrong offered to provide [the recruit] and/or his family members or associates with $300,000 cash (paid in installments of $50,000)," the notice of allegations says. He also agreed not to sue the university if he was fired with cause. As part of Wade's reinstatement in 2019, he agreed to an amended contract that included a stipulation allowing the university to fire him with cause if he was found to have committed Level I or Level II violations. This will mark the second time that Wade has been unable to coach a Tigers team he led to the NCAA tournament. Associate men's basketball head coach Bill Armstrong is accused of one Level I violation and one Level II violation. Wade is accused of five Level I violations and one Level II violation. The firing means that Wade, who was in his fifth season at LSU, will not coach in the upcoming NCAA tournament. Seven are alleged to be tied to the men's basketball program.
Wade was fired on Saturday after LSU's SEC Tournament exit. He was recently cited by the NCAA for five Level I violations.
The NOA also alleges that Wade and LSU engaged in “planned/schemed/purposeful” cheating. LSU began the 2021-22 season 12-0 but finished with a fairly disappointing 22-11 record. Nickelberry previously served as the head coach at Hampton (2006-09) and Howard (2010-19), earning a career record of 145-238.
The LSU men's basketball team has fired head coach Will Wade, and Kevin Nickelberry will take over as the interim coach, according to.
I know now, he didn't get enough of the piece of the pie in the deal." Coach Wade's explanations and clarifications offered during the meeting, absent actual evidence of misconduct, satisfy his contractual obligation to LSU." More allegations tied to Will Wade. "Violated the principles of ethical conduct and provided impermissible cash payments to the former fiancée of a student-athlete in order to buy her silence regarding prior and current impermissible inducements to student-athletes..." "Coach Wade met Friday with University and NCAA officials. "LSU officials did not acknowledge receipt of the NOA when contacted by SI on Tuesday. The NOA originated from the Complex Case Unit of the Independent Accountability Review Process—the so-called off-ramp for more complicated and contentious NCAA investigations. LSU received its Notice of Allegations from the NCAA earlier this week — and in Will Wade’s contract, it states the school can fire him without penalty if he’s charged with a Level 1 or Level 2 violation.
Will Wade is out as LSU men's basketball coach, sources confirmed to The Athletic Saturday.The timing of it — a day before Selection Sunday, with the Tigers ...
Notably, our decision to terminate Coach Wade and Coach Armstrong is not an acknowledgement of agreement with any of the allegations. We can no longer subject our University, Department of Athletics, and—most importantly—our student-athletes, to this taxing and already-lengthy process without taking action. It was tilted toward taking care of the mom, taking care of the kid. It's a school with impressive resources, a dedication to winning and in a fertile area for talent between Louisiana and Texas. And because so much of the focus is on football, it's also not a high-pressure gig. Woodward is an interesting part of this LSU coaching search: His reputation is as college sports' foremost name-changer, someone who always looks to shock and awe in their coaching hires. We know athletic director Scott Woodward won’t be afraid to take huge swings in the search process. My personal favorite — when forced to turn over his financials, Wade insisted that he didn’t know where the money went because his wife “handles the finances.” No doubt Lauren Wade’s family budgeting includes line items for groceries, the mortgage, haircuts and paying Javonte Smart. Wade not only is accused of paying guys, but then paying off their significant others to ensure no one knew about it. The school fired Wade approximately 27 hours before the NCAA Tournament bracket was to revealed, a bracket that will include the Tigers. What NCAA-bound coach gets fired the day before Selection Sunday? None is the answer. But everyone knew the NCAA was lurking in the distance, and the open question was if or when this would all come crashing down. BATON ROUGE, La. — Forty-eight hours before he lost his job, Will Wade smirked into the camera and acknowledged the elephant in the room. Though LSU was not a part of the FBI’s original findings, trial proceedings later revealed that Wade was recorded on a federal wiretap discussing a “strong-ass offer” he made for Javonte Smart, who ended up signing with LSU, with aspiring agent Christian Dawkins. Dawkins is currently serving an 18-month sentence on bribery and conspiracy charges.
Wade graduated from Clemson and spent time as a graduate assistant under Oliver Purnell, but his first full-time coaching experience came under Tommy Amaker at ...
He took LSU to a pair of NCAA Tournament bids and has them prepped for another trip this season. Unfortunately, Wade’s entire tenure was impacted by recruiting violations and the FBI wiretap investigation that followed. Overall, his impact with the basketball program was positive, leading the Tigers to an SEC regular-season title in 2019 and two more finishes among the Top 3 in a very talented league.