2017 FBI probe sent coaches to jail, got others fired. This March Madness was a reunion

On Sept. 26, 2017, the FBI and federal law enforcement authorities set off a massive explosion in college basketball that led to the arrests of several coaches and the eventual suspension or firing of several others. The list included then-USC assistant coach Tony Bland , who was arrested that day on bribery-related charges.

The fallout from it also ensnared Louisville head coach Rick Pitino ( fired in 2017 ), Arizona head coach Sen Miller ( fired in 2021 ) Kansas head coach Bill Self ( suspended in 2022 ), and LSU head coach Will Wade ( fired in 2022 ). But those coaches and several others since have been forgiven and even had a comeback party of sorts this month as active coaches in the NCAA Tournament. Wade also just got rehired as head coach at LSU , as if nothing ever happened, serving as a reminder about what really matters in college sports once all the FBI dust settles.

“Some had short exiles and punishments, but when you win, there’s always a spot,” said David Ridpath , a sports business professor at Ohio University. These March Madness comeback stories (see list below) also raise other big concerns on the eve of the Final Four in Indianapolis, according to observers. One is whether this crackdown had any lasting purpose or should have happened in the first place.

Another relates to former Arizona assistant coach Emanuel “Book” Richardson, who’s still paying a price for it even after serving 90 days in federal prison. “It is a continuing, profound injustice,” one of his advocates said recently. What was illegal then is now generally legal The FBI investigation and the NCAA rules enforcement cases that followed aimed to crack down on alleged bribes and illegal payments to recruits or their families , which now seems quaint.