South Carolina Receives A Notice of Allegations for Potential Major Violations

Here are the basic details:

Improper Benefits: From May 2009 through October 2010, Twelve athlete-students  were renting two-bedroom suites at the Whitney Hotel for the rate of $14.59 per night (rate I found: $156.97 per night). Said athlete-students essentially were living at the hotel, receiving the discount on the room and not having to pay rent elsewhere. The Hotel also allowed nine of the athletes to defer payment, which is an impermissible loan. Total benefits: more than $47,000.

Boosters: Kevin Lahn and Steve Gordon, deemed boosters by the NCAA, had impermissible contact and provided more than $8,000 in impermissible benefits to prospective South Carolina athletes and their families through their “Student-Athlete Mentoring Foundation.”

Failure to Monitor: Both charges.

Since the NCAA has shown neither consistency nor logic in its dealings with its member institutions, it would be imprudent to predict the severity of sanctions at this time. Guessing there will be games vacated.

[Photo via Getty]