Letter, addressed to USC President Harris Pastides, details accused violation related to Whitney Hotel, SAM Foundation
The NCAA hit the University of South Carolina with a notice of allegations late Monday afternoon, giving official indication the university's athletic program will face a formal infractions hearing.
The letter, sent to USC President Harris Pastides, states that 12 USC student-athletes — 10 football players and two members of the women's track and field team — received an estimated $47,000 in impermissible benefits at the Whitney Hotel through reduced rates not available to the general public and rent deferment plans, which constituted impermissible loans. The notice alleges the 10 student-athletes on the football team spent a combined 1,717 days in two-bedroom suites at the Whitney Hotel for a reduced rate of $14.59 a night, while the two women's track and field student-athletes spent a combined 74 nights in two-bedroom suites at $14.16 per night.
The letter also details a second violation in regard to the Delaware-based Student Athlete Mentoring (SAM) Foundation, its president Steve Gordon and treasurer Kevin Lahn. Both men are USC graduates. The NCAA alleges they provided $8,000 worth of impermissible benefits to prospective student-athletes through their roles in the SAM Foundation.
Both issues are considered "potential major violations," the letter stated. The university is accused of a failure to monitor in regards to the potential violations.
"The university will review the notice and respond accordingly. I assure you that we will continue to take all aspects of this investigation very seriously," Pastides said in a release. "We are prepared to continue to work with the NCAA to resolve any issues."
Luanne Lawrence, USC's vice president for communications, said the university hasn't had "any discussions" on the claims alleged by the NCAA, which she said the university hadn't fully reviewed.
Lawrence said the university sent a disassociation letter to Whitney Hotel General Manager Jamie Blevins Friday. Blevins couldn't be reached for comment Monday. USC has disassociated itself from Lahn in a letter earlier this month. The NCAA defined Lahn, who had season football tickets and a personal seat license at Williams-Brice Stadium, as a booster.
Disassociation means, among other things, Blevins and Lahn can't have contact with student-athletes, can't attend university events unless they are sporting events and are prohibited from purchasing tickets through the university.
The letter also alleges that Gordon and Lahn committed multiple violations, most related to impermissible benefits provided to prospective football student-athletes and their parents through the SAM Foundation in the form of fully-funded unofficial visits, hotel, lodging, meals and entertainment costs, as well as trips to USC's school-sponsored "seven-on-seven" football camps for teams and individuals and, in one case, the school's official "Junior Day" in January of this year.
However, the notice also includes allegations of violations committed by Gordon and Lahn regarding current USC staff members and student-athletes.
According to the letter, Lahn sent an email, eventually forwarded to the school's compliance office, to USC's Director of Development for Student Affairs Polly Lafitte asking that Pastides meet with a prospective student-athlete's mother to pitch USC's academic merits.
The letter states that Pastides never saw the email, but the school's compliance officer did see the email and went as far as to discuss it with an assistant football coach. But USC did not investigate further according to the letter, instead only asking Lahn to cease from such actions.
Lahn and Gordon also facilitated impermissible contact related to recruiting between prospective student-athletes and USC athletic coaches, the letter alleges. The coaches spoken to or met with include men's and women's track and field coach Curtis Frye and men's basketball and football assistants, according to the notice.
Lahn also invited Frye and 16 members of the USC men's and women's track and field teams to a dinner cruise on Lake Murray in Irmo, S.C., during a trip for 30 prospective student-athletes to USC's "seven-on-seven" camps through the SAM Foundation, the notice alleges. The cruise constituted an impermissible benefit for the 16 track and field student-athletes, the letter states, and provided Frye with impermissible off-campus recruiting contact with a prospective student-athlete.
All names in the notice are redacted, except for one last name the university failed to catch. Lawrence said the error was simply an omission, and details as to whom "Harris" is remained unclear Monday night.
But some details have previously been reported. Freshman wide receiver Damiere Byrd has served three games of a four-game suspension for receiving approximately $2,700 in impermissible benefits through his participation in the SAM Foundation. Byrd's father, Adrian Byrd, is the foundation's vice president and director of its South New Jersey chapter according to the group's official website. Damiere Byrd is a Sicklerville, N.J., native.
Byrd's appeal was denied late last week. He will have to repay the $2,700 and is eligible to return for USC's Oct. 1 game against Auburn.
Florida defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd was suspended by the NCAA for two games due to his participation with the SAM Foundation, returning to action this weekend against Tennessee. Floyd, who played high school football near Philadelphia, also will have to repay $2,700 in impermissible benefits received.
The notice of allegations is the second step of a full NCAA investigation into USC's athletic department that began last September with an official letter of inquiry sent to Pastides.
USC now has until Dec. 14 to prepare a response to the allegations. It is anticipated that the committee on infractions will consider USC's response during the body's February 17–18 meeting in Los Angeles, the letter states. After the hearing, USC will receive its penalty in about six to eight weeks, Senior Associate Director of Athletics Judy Van Horn said Monday night on USC Athletics Director Eric Hyman's weekly radio show.
The committee requests that "at a minimum," USC's representatives for the presentation include Pastides, Frye, Hyman, head football coach Steve Spurrier, faculty athletics representative Zach Kelehear and director of compliance Jennifer Styles.
It is also requested that assistant men's basketball coach Mike Boynton and assistant football coach G.A. Mangus attend, indicating they are the assistant coaches for their respective programs referenced in the notice.
"We have and will continue to cooperate fully with the NCAA in all aspects of their review," Hyman said in a release. "Any pertinent information from the NCAA that can help us strengthen our athletics program will be used as an opportunity to make positive change."
Spurrier did not speak to the media after football practice on Monday night. His weekly press conference is scheduled for today at noon.
Editor-in-Chief Josh Dawsey contributed to this report.
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