Officials at the USC confirmed Friday that the university has received a Notice of Allegations (NOA) from the NCAA related to the federal corruption probe by authorities alleging misdeeds within the men's basketball program.
USC released the following statement acknowledging the news.
"USC has received a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA related to a former coach in the men's basketball program. USC has cooperated with the NCAA since it first became aware of the issues raised in the Notice of Allegations. Because the notice involves a pending NCAA case, USC is unable to discuss any of the allegations in or facts relating to the case. USC looks forward to an expeditious resolution of this matter."
The former coach USC notes in its statement is Tony Bland, who in January plead guilty to a felony count of conspiracy to commit bribery. Bland used his influence with student-athletes to steer to them to financial advisers after they turned pro and left USC. He admitted accepting bribery money to do so as part of the scheme.
Bland was fired from his post as an assistant at USC shortly after the allegations were brought to light in 2017. He was one of four assistant coaches ensnared in similar schemes across the country, which also included coaches at Auburn, Oklahoma State and Arizona.
The NOA for USC makes it the fourth Division I program to receive one related to the recent FBI investigation. Kansas, NC State, and most recently, Oklahoma State, have all received NOA's this year.
