Former USC Coach Pleads Guilty in Basketball Corruption Case

Jan 02 2019, 4:24 PMJan 02 2019, 5:45 PMJanuary 02 2019, 4:24 PMJanuary 02 2019, 5:45 PM

(Bloomberg) -- Former University of Southern California assistant coach Tony Bland pleaded guilty in a federal probe into corruption in U.S. college basketball.

Bland, who pleaded to conspiring to commit bribery, is among 10 coaches, managers, financial advisers and representatives of sportswear companies charged in 2017 in a series of prosecutions targeting illegal kickbacks in National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball programs.

A Manhattan federal jury in October convicted three men, including a former Adidas AG employee, of participating in schemes to steer top-ranked athletes to schools including the University of Louisville, the University of Kansas and North Carolina State University. Perhaps the most prominent defendant is Chuck Person, a former National Basketball Association star and associate head coach at Auburn University.

The charges followed a three-year investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation into criminal influence in NCAA basketball. The alleged schemes include illicit payoffs to steer young athletes to powerhouse schools and into clothing contracts and financial advisory deals.

Part of the FBI’s broader case is built on allegations that an executive at a global apparel company bribed students to attend universities where the company sponsored athletic programs. Prosecutors also allege that business managers and financial advisers illegally paid coaches to send student athletes to them to manage their fortunes once they turned professional.