LSU fired men’s basketball coach Will Wade and assistant head coach Bill Armstrong in the case Saturday, four days after the university received a detailed 17-page notice of the allegations from the NCAA’s Complicated Cases Division as part of an independent liability resolution process.
According to a notice of allegations received by The Advocate on Saturday at the request for public records, 11 violations were listed, seven of which relate exclusively to men’s basketball. Wade is linked to six of the seven charges in the men’s basketball program, and five of them are Level I violations. Armstrong is charged with one Level I violation and one Level II violation.
In addition, LSU basketball shares blame with football in an additional Tier I allegation that LSU “did not exercise institutional control or control over the conduct and management of its football and men’s basketball programs” from February 2012 to June 2020.
Both Wade and Armstrong can be penalized for their infractions, as outlined in the NOA. The show cause penalty is the most severe penalty a coach can receive from the NCAA, effectively banning them from coaching for a specified period of time.
LSU President William F. Tate IV and Athletic Director Scott Woodward released a statement Saturday saying “our decision to fire Coach Wade and Coach Armstrong is not an admission of agreement with any of the allegations.”
Tate and Woodward added in a statement that after they received the NOA earlier this week, it took days for those involved in the decision-making process to study the details set out in the NOA to determine their next steps.
“We can no longer subject our university, athletics department, and most importantly, our student-athletes to this tedious and already lengthy process without taking action,” they wrote. “Our responsibility to protect and promote the integrity and well-being of our entire institution and our student-athletes will always be of paramount importance.”
Numerous attempts to contact Wade were unsuccessful. In an interview with the CCU NCAA, Wade denied all allegations.
Wade and Armstrong were fired after the LSU basketball team landed in Baton Rouge shortly after 12:30 p.m. According to the source, the coaches had a face-to-face meeting with Woodward and Tate.
LSU lost Friday in the SEC tournament to Arkansas, but the Tigers are the presumed lock to make the NCAA tournament with their 22-11 record. LSU will still compete if selected.
Assistant coach Kevin Nickelberry will take over interim coaching duties for the postseason, as former assistant Tony Benford did when Wade was suspended for 37 days in 2018/19.
Wade was suspended at the end of the 2018/19 season after Yahoo Sports detailed a tapped conversation between him and now-convicted mediator Christian Dawkins. In a conversation recorded by the FBI, Wade spoke openly about the “strong offer” he made in hiring former LSU security guard and Baton Rouge native Javonte Smart in 2017.
This particular charge is listed in the NOA as the first of seven charges against the basketball team and was determined to be a Level I violation. In the indictment, the CCU wrote in this case that Wade “violated principles of ethical conduct and/or offered unacceptable incentives for recruitment in the form of cash payments and job offers to secure” an unnamed recruit believed to be Smart.
At the time, Wade was suspended not because of the reports, but because he and his legal counsel refused to meet with LSU and NCAA officials about the reports. According to the NOA, Wade’s alleged insubordination and non-cooperation lasted much longer than those 37 days, which is also a Level I violation.
If you’re a Tiger fan, you won’t want to miss this newsletter. Register Today.
During the NCAA’s investigation of several instances of misconduct on the basketball team, Wade “violated the NCAA’s ethical conduct guidelines and refused to cooperate in the investigation” of numerous allegations, including the four violations outlined in the NOA and “a number of other allegations.” The NCAA was unable to fully substantiate.
Wade, according to the NOA, was repeatedly asked to provide thousands of records and refused, only doing so on August 20, 2021, almost three years after the NCAA first requested them. The CCU wrote that Wade’s delay “was unjustified and obstructed” the NCAA investigation, even after “several allegations publicly surfaced in the media.”
Additionally, Wade allegedly paid money to the LSU athlete’s unnamed ex-fiancee in exchange for her silence regarding Wade’s payments to players.
The woman wrote to Wade on July 25, 2017, saying, “I know you have also given money to some of your recruits,” before adding, “My coach that I work with spoke to several (people) in the basketball world and offered me money to talk. (Please) contact me before the end of the day, otherwise I will have to accept their offer.” Wade responded by telling her to call him.
Two days later, the woman wrote: “I need 5 more. … Put this in the same account.” Then the next day, she texted Wade asking him to “send 9 more”. “You did your part, now I have to do mine and make sure it doesn’t get known,” the woman said.
However, the payment for the “9” did not seem to go through because a few days later the woman wrote to Wade to ask if he had seen her message. Wade replied: “Yes, I saw it. I thought we were done.”
The woman said she needed more money than originally thought. “We will end everything after this,” she said. Wade responded the next day, August 1, 2017, saying, “I’m sorry you’re having money problems. You said we were done after the last transfer I sent, so I think we’re done.
The texts about the payment to the woman, as established by the CCU, coincided with the obligation of another potential client. The NCAA determined that this was a Level I violation for which Wade could be disciplined with good cause.
In another allegation involving Wade, he allegedly paid an undisclosed amount in April 2018 to an unnamed individual for his services as an ineligible recruiter for an unnamed player. The money allegedly came from a bank account in the name of Wade’s wife. Wade and his wife Lauren allegedly viewed it as a joint account. The NCAA determined that this was a Level I violation for which Wade could be disciplined with good cause.
The Level I charge involving Armstrong came after Wade’s suspension. Between February and June 2020, Armstrong was alleged to have offered $300,000 in cash to force an unnamed international athlete to join LSU. In addition, Armstrong allegedly promised a car for the athlete’s cousin, a stipend for a friend, and visa assistance to the player and/or his family and other associates in order to force the athlete to commit. According to the NOA, this was done with Wade’s knowledge and is a Level I violation for which Armstrong can be punished with good cause.
In addition to a Level I violation relating to Wade’s alleged non-cooperation and Level I violations for specific rule violations, Wade was also charged with an additional Level I violation because he was held responsible for specific misconduct relating to unacceptable benefits to potential players. and/or near them, which can also lead to “head coach restrictions”.
The Level II claim concerns both Wade and Armstrong, and it is presumed that they had inappropriate personal contact with the potential player’s parents. Wade and Armstrong went to watch the state’s high school basketball tournament, which included a game with said player. After the game, Wade and Armstrong met up with the family at a restaurant. The reason this was a Level II violation and not a lesser category violation was due to several factors, including how the meeting was prearranged and initiated by Wade and Armstrong. Because of this, an instance may require a feigned cause penalty for Wade and/or Armstrong.
Although Wade was fired by LSU, the case will continue. LSU has several weeks to respond to the notice of allegations, and once the IARP responds to it, a hearing will be scheduled to determine penalties. The final decision of the IARP cannot be appealed.
Staff Writer Sheldon Mickles contributed to this report.