Report: Steve Sarkisian could face penalties for allegations against former assistant at Washington
The Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday that Washington assistant coach Tosh Lupoi is being investigated for allegedly paying for a recruit’s tutoring and online classes. Now it appears that former Washington coach and new USC coach Steve Sarkisian could face penalties, including suspension, stemming from the investigation.
The recruit, Andrew Basham, signed a letter of intent to play for the Huskies in February but did not qualify academically to enroll at UW. Lupoi, who has denied violating any NCAA rules, allegedly provided $3,000 to cover Basham’s private tutoring.
If the allegations prove to be true, Sarkisian would need to show “that he did enough in terms of promoting an atmosphere of compliance and that he monitored his program so that he should not be held responsible,” John Infante, former compliance director at Loyola Marymount and Colorado State told the Times.
Sarkisian won’t coach the Trojans in the Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday, but he did attend USC’s practice at a Las Vegas high school. Reporters asked him if he was concerned about potential penalties if the allegations against Lupoi were proven to be true.
“I don’t know if concerned is the right word. I know what I did on a daily basis and I know the environment that I promoted there every single day that I went to work there,” Sarkisian. “If and or when the NCAA wants to talk to me, I’ll feel confident in my ability to show, factually, the ability that I exhibited to promote that atmosphere.”
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H/T LA Times
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