In the wake of the September 2017 arrest of Auburn assistant coach Chuck Person and others implicated in the federal investigation into college basketball, Auburn limited itself to no recruiting activity for the next seven month, according to AL.com.
Auburn had already been holding out players Danjel Purifoy and Austin Wiley for the entire 2017-18 season, but Auburn had not previously disclosed that it announced any further sanctions. Person had allegedly facilitated in payments to both players, though he ultimately did not have to serve prison time after accepting $91,500 in bribes.
The Tigers went on a run to the NCAA tournament in 2017-18 although, as Arizona found, recruiting already was difficult for schools implicated in the federal proceedings during that stretch. The Wildcats lost all three of their fall 2017 commitments, though Brandon Williams opted to return in May 2017, and did not land anyone else until April 2017.
While Arizona has hired an outside firm to conduct a review of its potential NCAA issues -- and monitored the spring trial in New York with staff counsel -- Auburn self-reported violations in recruiting issues, extra benefits to the student-athlete and agent-related activity, according to an NCAA ruling reported on by the Montgomery Advertiser.
