ASU placed on 4-year probation mitigated following recruiting infractions
An NCAA Into Arizona State's alleged recruiting violations that began nearly three years ago is coming to a close, as penalties mitigated Level I recruiting infractions were announced. While the investigation hasn’t concluded since two individuals, one of the former defensive coordinator, and current Las Vegas head coach, Antonio Pierce, are contesting portions of their respective cases via written record hearing, a process that is months away from concluding. Following the written record hearing, the Committee on Infractions pane will release its full decision which will complete the investigation.
The agreed-upon penalties are four years of probation for Arizona State, vacating ten wins between the 2021-22 season in which ineligible players competed, scholarship reductions, and recruiting restrictions. Since the school had a self-imposed postseason ban for the 2023 football season, it wasn’t assessed an additional ban.
Despite the fact that the violations involved at least 30 players, which was significantly larger than schools such as Air Force and Tennessee, which also committed recruiting violations during the 2020 calendar year, Arizona State’s cooperation lessened the severity of the penalties.
"Arizona State's cooperation throughout the investigation and processing of this case was exemplary, and the cooperation began with the leadership shown by the university president," said Jason Leonard, executive director of athletics compliance at Oklahoma and chief hearing officer for the Committee on Infractions panel. "The school's acceptance of responsibility and decision to self-impose meaningful core penalties is a model for all schools to follow and is consistent with the expectations of the NCAA's infractions program."
Furthermore, Arizona State agreed to disassociate itself from an involved booster for a period of five years. The former four ASU coaches invoved in this case did agree or did not contest show-cause orders ranging from three to 10 years. Individuals close to the case did indicate that former ASU head coach Herm Edwards received a three-year show-cause penalty due to his involvement with these violations. There were several former staff members who chose not to cooperate with the NCAA investigation and thus could receive show-cause penalties in the future.
The Sun Devils will also incur a scholarship reduction for the 2024 season, which has yet to be announced, although that reduction, according to individuals familiar with the matter, is not expected to be more than one or two scholarships. Aside from an undisclosed fine, the school will also have restrictions regarding recruiting activities, specifically hosting visitors and engaging in off-campus recruiting. These recruiting restrictions will end by August 1st and will not carry over to the Fall of 2024 and beyond.
