Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated reported this afternoon that LSU has (finally) received its Notice of Allegations from the NCAA regarding infractions against the men’s basketball and football programs.
According to Forde:
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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. If coach Will Wade is charged with a major violation, he could be terminated with cause, according to a contract amendment he agreed to in April 2019. Wade’s attorney, Steve Thompson, did not immediately respond to a call from Sports Illustrated.
It is unclear whether LSU would exercise that option without waiting for the full resolution of the case, which will take months. The Tigers (21–10), who are set to play in their third consecutive NCAA tournament next week, open play in the Southeastern Conference tournament Thursday.
The basketball infractions case was combined with violations uncovered within the football program. Those included a booster paying the father of a player $180,000 for a no-show job and former star player Odell Beckham Jr. paying LSU players cash on the field immediately after the Tigers won the 2019 national championship in New Orleans. With a 3–5 record late in the ’20 season, LSU self-imposed a bowl ban in reaction to the violations; the school had previously reduced its number of scholarships and limited some elements of its recruiting.
