PHOENIX β Arizona Stateβs football program may have committed recruiting violations, according to a report published Wednesday morning.
The NCAA is investigating whether ASU hosted high school athletes during the COVID-19 dead period, and potentially committed other recruiting violations, as first reported by The Athletic.
The investigation was confirmed by a school spokesperson, but without further comment. The number of prospects the program hosted during what was supposed to be an NCAA-mandated stoppage in in-person visits is unclear.
βASU can confirm the NCAA is conducting an investigation regarding allegations related to our football program,β the statement from ASU said. βIn accordance with NCAA bylaws, the university cannot provide further comment at this time.β
New details regarding what is being investigated were revealed in a report from Yahoo! Sports, published Wednesday afternoon. The report cited sources saying that an anonymous person sent a file containing dozens of pages to the Arizona State athletic department, which included screenshots, receipts, pictures and emails related to numerous potential violations within the football program.
The documents are in possession of both the NCAA and ASU, and school officials have been conducting internal interviews, Yahoo! Sports reported.
In-person recruiting only recently re-started, after 15 months due to the pandemic. ASU has already welcomed potential student-athletes from Arizona and out-of-state for campus visits, according to The Athletic.
The Yahoo report said the documentation shows that ASU football hosted recruits before the official date of resumption of in-person visits, June 1, which would put the program in violation of NCAA rules. The report also said, citing sources, that head coach Herm Edwards met with recruits, and the file has evidence of that.
When asked for comment by Yahoo, Edwards declined.
The Yahoo! Sports report details rifts between staff members within the football program over individual decisions whether to aid with the recruiting efforts. It described weekends with multiple student-athlete visits; nighttime, out-of-sight facility tours and a private workout for a recruit that was recorded and evaluated by ASU coaching staff.
