North Carolina State University became the first school to feel the sting from the NCAA in the wake of the federal trials that caught up a number of other programs and coaches in corruption.
The school announced Wednesday that it had received a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA related to former player Dennis Smith Jr., former head coach Mark Gottfried and former assistant coach Orlando Early. The Charlotte News & Observer reports that the NOA lists two Level I and two Level II violations against NC State.
The more serious Level I violations implicate Early in connection to a $40,000 payment during Smith’s recruitment and an additional $6,600 worth of impermissible benefits in the form of complimentary tickets to Smith’s family and trainer during his time with the Wolfpack. The second Level I violation implicates Gottfried for failure to monitor Early for those alleged violations.
The Level II violations listed in the NOA include one for the excessive provision of free tickets, and another one for the school for failure to monitor the provision of free tickets.
NC State was the first school to announce that it had received a Notice of Allegations since the NCAA launched its own investigation of corruption in college basketball. The NCAA had been waiting for the conclusion of the federal corruption trials before launching its own investigations, according to the News & Observer.
Gottfried, who is currently the head coach at Cal State-Northridge, issued a statement via his attorneys responding to the NOA.
“While we disagree with the enforcement staff’s position that Coach Gottfried did not adequately monitor certain aspects of his program, we are pleased that the NCAA agrees that he was not involved in any illicit payments,” said Scott Tompsett, one of Gottfried’s lawyers. “This case will ultimately be decided by the Committee on Infractions after a full hearing at which Coach Gottfried will appear and have an opportunity to present his position.”
