Report: Progress made in NCAA infractions case vs. Oklahoma State

There is movement in the NCAA’s infractions case against Oklahoma State, and closure is likely coming soon, sources told Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde.

Sanctions against the school for illegal recruiting practices were originally announced in June 2020. Oklahoma State was the first team to be hit with punishment as a result of the FBI’s work on college basketball recruiting. The sanctions included a one-year postseason ban for the Level I violations, the most serious type of violation in the NCAA. It was supposed to be served in the 2020-2021 season.

The NCAA recently created an Independent Accountability Review Process (IARP), but the case for the Cowboys went through the regular NCAA peer review channel. That made possible the option to file an appeal.

Believing the penalty was too severe, Oklahoma State appealed the sanctions. Because the NCAA failed to issue a ruling on the appeal prior to the NCAA tournament last year, the Cowboys were able to play postseason basketball last season. They lost to Oregon State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Presumably, if the ban is ultimately still going to occur, it would be enforced for the 2021-2022 basketball season.

Oklahoma State not happy with lagging process

In early October, head coach Mike Boynton expressed his discontent with the slow process and lack of answers from the NCAA.

“I feel bad, to be honest, that there isn’t [a resolution yet],” Boynton said. “It’s unfathomable to me.”

Unsurprisingly, the purgatory has had a negative impact on recruiting. Boynton said he lost a recruit last spring because of the uncertainty.

The punishment is a result of illegal recruiting practices by former Oklahoma State assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Lamont Evans. He was terminated from the university in 2017 within days of an announcement that the charges would be filed.

In 2019, Evans was sentenced three months in prison for accepting bribes to point recruits toward agents and financial advisors. He was ordered to forfeit $22,000 and work 100 hours of community service. The original notice of allegations from the NCAA came in November 2019.

No one currently on the Oklahoma State staff has been named or charged in the case.

There is movement in cases involving three additional schools and their recruiting practices; cases against LSU, NC State and Auburn are near closure or making significant progress as well. The LSU case is particularly interesting given the involvement of current head coach Will Wade.