LSU fires Will Wade for cause after major NCAA violations. Here’s why. | LSU

LSU fired men’s basketball coach Will Wade and associate head coach Bill Armstrong for cause Saturday, four days after the university received a detailed, 17-page notice of allegations from the NCAA’s Complex Case Unit of the Independent Accountability Resolution Process.

According to the notice of allegations obtained by The Advocate on Saturday through a public records request, there were 11 violations outlined — seven of which solely pertain to men’s basketball. Wade is tied to six of the seven allegations within the men’s basketball program, and five of those are Level I infractions. Armstrong is accused of one Level I violation and one Level II violation.

Additionally, LSU basketball shares fault with football in an additional Level I allegation that LSU “failed to exercise institutional control and monitor the conduct and administration of its football and men’s basketball programs” from February 2012 through June 2020.

Both Wade and Armstrong could receive show-cause penalties for their conduct in the violations, as outlined in the NOA. A show-cause penalty is the harshest penalty a coach can receive from the NCAA, effectively barring that person from coaching for a duration of time.

LSU President William F. Tate IV and athletic director Scott Woodward released a statement Saturday.

“Our decision to terminate Coach Wade and Coach Armstrong is not an acknowledgement of agreement with any of the allegations,” they wrote.

Tate and Woodward added in the statement that after they received the NOA earlier this week, those involved in the decision-making process took several days to pore over the details outlined in the NOA to determine their next steps.

“We can no longer subject our university, department of athletics, and — most importantly — our student-athletes, to this taxing and already-lengthy process without taking action,” they wrote. “Our responsibility to protect and promote the integrity and well-being of our entire institution and our student-athletes will always be paramount.”

Multiple attempts to reach Wade were unsuccessful. In interviews with the NCAA’s Complex Case Unit, Wade denied all the allegations.

Wade and Armstrong were fired after the LSU basketball team landed in Baton Rouge shortly after 12:30 p.m. Saturday. The coaches had an in-person meeting with Woodward and Tate, per a source.

LSU lost Friday in the SEC tournament to Arkansas, but the Tigers are a supposed lock to make the NCAA tournament with their 22-11 record. LSU will still compete if selected.

Assistant coach Kevin Nickelberry will assume the duties of interim coach for the postseason, just like former assistant Tony Benford did when Wade was suspended for 37 days in 2018-19.

Wade was suspended at the tail end of the 2018-19 season after Yahoo Sports detailed a wiretapped conversation between him and now-convicted middle man Christian Dawkins. The conversation recorded by the FBI included Wade openly speaking about a “strong-ass offer” he made in the recruitment of former LSU guard and Baton Rouge native Javonte Smart…