TCU Basketball given three years probation for “ethical conduct” violation

TCU Basketball has had their hand slapped this morning, as the result of the NCAA’s years long investigation into an improper benefits claim ended in a three year probation period for the program.

At issue was then-TCU Basketball assistant coach Corey Barker’s acceptance of a $6,000 payment from a business management company in exchange for agreeing to influence student-athletes to use the company’s services. Barker also “provided false or misleading information about his actions and failed to cooperate with the school’s investigation”, according to the NCAA’s findings.

The violations in this case occurred when the former assistant coach attended a July 2017 meeting in Las Vegas with an agent associate and representatives of the agent associate’s management company. Government recordings — which were evidence in federal court and included in the infractions case record — show that during that meeting, the coach touted his relationships with certain student-athletes and prospects who had NBA potential, giving the impression that he could steer those players to the management company when they turned professional. During that meeting, the agent associate discussed monthly payments for the assistant coach, and at the conclusion of the meeting, the assistant coach accepted $6,000.

TCU conducted an internal investigation in 2017 after the agent was arrested, but Barker denied involvement. After he was outed by the media in 2019, he declined to be interviewed by both TCU and the NCAA, ultimately leading to his firing at the hands of the university.

The sanctions handed down are:

The committee classified the case as Level I-mitigated for the school and Level I-aggravated for the former assistant coach. The committee used the Division I membership-approved infractions penalty guidelines to prescribe the following measures:

Three years of probation.

A $5,000 fine plus 1% of the men’s basketball program budget (self-imposed by the university).

A five-year show-cause order for the former assistant coach. During that period, any NCAA member school employing him must restrict him from any athletically related duties unless it shows cause why the restrictions should not apply.

TCU’s penalties are by no means stiff, and this shouldn’t impact the future of the program in any meaningful way. But when you look at the roster and staff turnover from 2017 to now — and even from 2021 to today — it’s pretty absurd.