Football, Men’s Basketball Receive 3-Year Probation

No postseason ban for either sport or lack of institutional control found in light of the Will Wade investigation

The NCAA’s four-year long investigation into the LSU football and men’s basketball program finally came to a close Thursday morning.

Following the investigation, the IARP handed down a three-year probation to both football and men’s basketball. Neither team was issued a postseason ban nor hit with the dreaded lack of institutional control.

The biggest punishments issued went to former men’s hoops coach Will Wade, who is now the head coach at McNeese. Wade got a 10-game suspension and handed a two-year show cause.

LSU self-imposed a bunch of sanctions on the football and men’s basketball programs which helped reduce the punishment the NCAA handed down. My personal favorite was the self-imposed bowl ban LSU gave itself in 2020 when the team was 3-5.

The football program will vacate the 37 victories earned between the 2012-2015 seasons as part of the investigation into former offensive linemen Vadal Alexander who was ruled to be ineligible for the duration of his LSU career. This means that LSU’s game against North Texas in the 2012 season never happened, which means I never actually dropped my hat during pregame. I’m free!

All in all the penalties are a big ole nothingburger, as was the entire investigation. If anything, the men’s team can move on and hopefully get back to being competitive now that the dEaTh PeNaLtY isn’t looming over the program.