here's part of the reason why Iowa State is looking for a new coach...
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Iowa State and a number of college basketball programs have reportedly been involved in a possible recruiting scam that steered more than $100,000 to a Los Angeles business run by a junior college coach.
A CBS Sportsline.com story on Wednesday alleges that D1 Scheduling, a company founded by Los Angeles Community College coach Mike Miller, might have been delivering LACC players to Division I schools that paid the company to arrange games.
The report said that D1 Scheduling turned a profit by taking a significant cut of the money paid by schools looking for opponents. Schools on the receiving end made far less than they would have if the games were made without a matchmaker.
Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard released a statement saying the school had no knowledge of potential improprieties when they entered into scheduling agreements with the company, and that Iowa State will no longer use D1 Scheduling because of the appearance of impropriety.
"We're extremely disappointed that our institution has been cast in a negative light as a result of our men's basketball scheduling practices the past three years," Pollard said. "I honestly believe that Iowa State University did not knowingly do anything wrong as it relates to scheduling these non-conference games."
According to the report, Iowa State, Iona, Louisiana Tech, Tennessee State, Howard and Norfolk State have used D1 Scheduling to arrange matchups with each other. Those schools all have signed players from LACC.
CBS Sportsline.com reported that Iowa State appeared to be the centerpiece of the operation, and that under coach Wayne Morgan, ISU used D1 Scheduling to arrange guarantee games only when the other school also recruited LACC players. Most Division I schools do not use outside help when scheduling games.
According to the report, Iowa State paid D1 Scheduling $40,000 for a home game against Tennessee State last season. But the company only gave Tennessee State $10,000, much less than it could've made by simply arranging the game directly with Iowa State. Three of Tennessee State's top players -- Wayne Arnold, Clarence Matthews and Kareem Grant -- came from LACC.
This season, Iowa State played host to a four-team tournament in November. Records show that Iowa State paid D1 Scheduling $125,000 to provide Iona, Howard and Portland State as opponents, but that Howard only received $13,000 and Portland State $15,000 from the company. Iona didn't disclose how much D1 Scheduling gave the school to play the Cyclones.
Iowa State has one LACC player in its roster: reserve Anthony Davis.
"Iowa State is above this," Pollard told CBS Sportsline.com. "Other than the Anthony Davis piece, I don't think [Iowa State] did anything wrong. But the fact that we're associated with something that certainly has the appearance that is less than desirable ... that's a concern."
Morgan said he did not commit any violations when he recruited Davis to Iowa State. He said D1 Scheduling was contracted to help Iowa State improve its non-conference schedule -- not recruit players.
"It has not been easy to get highly regarded teams to Ames for non-conference games," Morgan said in a statement released Wednesday night. "D1 Scheduling enabled us to secure a good non-conference schedule at the median market price.
"Everything that I or Iowa State has done relative to scheduling has been straightforward, honest, and clearly within the bounds of what is normal in scheduling."
Miller defended D1 Scheduling and its relationship with Iowa State to CBS Sportsline.com.
"If the angle you're going at is there's some kind of quid pro quo -- there isn't," Miller said. "Business is business, and people are allowed to make money. Looks can be deceiving, because there's no quid pro quo here."
NCAA spokesman Kent Barrett told CBS Sportsline.com that the organization doesn't comment on potential recruiting violations at specific schools.
Phone messages left with Miller and the NCAA by The Associated Press were not immediately returned Wednesday.
sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2370829
