Antonio Pierce won't be part of ASU's resolution with NCAA, but can still face penalty
Former Arizona State football associate head coach Antonio Pierce won't be part of the negotiated resolution regarding ASU's case with the NCAA, reports CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd.
The case is of course regarding the major recruiting violations alleged to have been performed by ASU while Pierce was on the Sun Devils' staff. Pierce was the linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator at ASU from 2018 to 2021. He was also the associate head coach there in 2020 and 2021, the co-defensive coordinator there in 2020 and the defensive coordinator there in 2021.
While Pierce won't be part of the negotiated resolution, he is not off the hook for future punishment. He does not have to sit down for an in-person interview with NCAA investigators about the case, but he does have to write a statement to the NCAA, per Dodd's sources. When that statement is looked over and compared to what the NCAA has found by that time, decisions on a punishment for Pierce will be made.
Pierce resigned from his duties before the 2022 season at ASU, as he was one of five assistants at Arizona State who were either fired or resigned after the allegations of recruiting violations came out. Then-Sun Devil head coach Herm Edwards had been meeting with potential recruits at a rented house away from campus in Paradise Valley.
The allegations claim that some of this was going on during the recruiting dead period in 2020 where coaches were not allowed to meet with recruits as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. No Power Five team had a shorter season in 2020 than Arizona State, due to the Sun Devil football program having to cancel games due to too many people within the program testing positive for the coronavirus. Even then-ASU quarterback Jayden Daniels' mother — Regina Jackson — was alleged to have helped pay for recruits' flights to come visit Arizona State during this period.
The reason Pierce does not have to cooperate with the NCAA during this process is because he is not in college sports anymore. He is the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders — an NFL team.
Sources had told CBS Sports before that ASU's negotiated resolution with the NCAA includes a show-cause penalty for Edwards. This means that a school is at risk for potential sanctions if that school hires him during the time of the show-cause penalty. Dodd wrote that "Pierce, considered a central figure in the recruiting scandal, could receive a similar penalty."
It is worth noting, however, that neither coach is expected to be back in college football for at least the near future. Dodd wrote that the NCAA's decision is expected to be made soon. In February, CBS Sports had already reported that ASU was expected to admit to major recruiting violations during the process of the negotiated resolution.
ASU already self-imposed a one-year bowl ban prior to the 2023 season. The potential silver lining that came with that decision was that it likely prevents future postseason bans tied to this case.
There are not many wins or accomplishments for the NCAA to strip from Edwards and Pierce's time together at Arizona State. The two won just 25 games in their four years together with the Sun Devils. Edwards stuck around for one more season after Pierce resigned, but was fired after a 1-2 start that included a two-score home loss to Eastern Michigan.
The Sun Devils never finished a season ranked in any year with Edwards. In Pierce's two years as co-defensive coordinator or defensive coordinator at Arizona State, the team never cracked the top 21 nationally in scoring defense, finished inside the top 31 only once, and even finished just 90th in yards per game allowed in 2020.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Antonio Pierce can still be punished despite dodging NCAA negotiations
