Oklahoma State Basketball Receives Notice of Allegation from NCAA

The NCAA served Oklahoma State’s men’s basketball program with a Notice of Allegation on Friday, the program confirmed in a statement.

Matt Norlander of CBS Sports first reported the news.

The notice stems from the FBI’s investigation into college basketball and includes a Level I unethical conduct charge against former assistant coach Lamont Evans, but it does not mention or charge OSU coach Mike Boynton nor former OSU coach Brad Underwood, who hired Evans.

OSU is aiming for a hearing with the NCAA in the next four months, according to CBS. If the Level I violation holds, OSU could face loss of scholarships, be fined, face probation and lose recruiting days. OSU coach Mike Boynton released the following statement after the NOA was released:

“We have been open and transparent with our team, our recruits and the NCAA,” he said. “We’re disappointed this occurred but are pleased that a thorough investigation has determined the most serious violation was reported in the news more than two years ago. We look forward to presenting our case on the level of violation to the NCAA.”

Evans was one of 10 men arrested in arrested in 2017 from the FBI’s undercover sting operation into basketball recruiting. Of the 10 men arrested, four were assistant coaches. Evans was sentenced to three months in federal prison in June.

The NCAA claims Evans effectively used and/or sought to use his position to take advantage of student-athletes and sway them toward earnings or partnerships after they left college. He is also accused of taking $18,000-$40,000 in attempt to steer players to sign with Christian Dawkins’ sports agency.

OSU does not dispute the facts of the case — in fact, it says it agrees that Evans accepted bribes in an effort to steer players to financial advisers. However, it believes it should receive a lenient judgement because Evans acted independent of OSU’s knowledge. As such, the University has requested an appearance before the Committee on Infractions to present its position.

“This information was reported to OSU by the student-athlete and then self-reported to the NCAA by OSU in October 2017,” OSU said in its statement, acknowledging the fact that a former student-athlete was involved. “The student-athlete’s eligibility was restored, and he never competed while ineligible.”