Miami

Miami Hurricanes Reportedly Involved in NCAA Bribery Case That Led to Arrests of Coaches, Executive

A bombshell federal investigation into alleged bribery and corruption that landed several college basketball coaches under arrest now possibly has the Miami Hurricanes in the cross-hairs amid reports the school may have been involved.

The FBI announced Tuesday the arrests of 10 people, including the coaches from schools like USC, Auburn and Arizona among others along with financial advisers and representatives from sportswear company Adidas.

The two year investigation uncovered claims Jim Gatto, the company’s global sports marketing director, worked with coaches to help bribe high school players and their families to convince those athletes to attend schools who are sponsored by Adidas.

"These coaches abused that trust placed in them by the players and their families. And they violated the duties they owed to their schools," Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Joon H. Kim said in a statement. "In exchange for bribes ranging from $13,000 to almost $100,000 each, these coaches allegedly pushed particular managers and advisers on the players and their families."

A report from Business Insider claims Gatto and others agreed to pay up to $150,000 to persuade a player to sign with an the Hurricanes, though Miami is not officially listed in the report released by prosecutors in New York City.

No one associated with the university has been charged in the case.

"The University of Miami is aware of the indictments handed down today by the Department of Justice involving several men’s college basketball programs, coaches, financial advisers, agents, and apparel executives," UM athletic director Blake James said in a statement. "As we are just learning the details we cannot comment on the actions taken today by federal authorities. However if requested, we will cooperate in any legal or NCAA review of the matter.”

Miami entered into an agreement with Adidas starting in 2015 that runs for 12 years, a move made after serving as one of the top grossing schools for rival company Nike for decades.

Contact Us