NCAA slaps Antonio Pierce with eight-year show-cause for Arizona State recruiting violations

The NCAA has slapped Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce with an eight-year show-cause penalty for recruiting violations that occurred while he was at Arizona State. In a release, the NCAA announced the penalties.

At the time of the violations, Pierce was the associate head coach, co-defensive coordinator, and recruiting coordinator for Arizona State. During that time the NCAA says that Pierce violated the principles of ethical conduct for impermissible recruiting activities during the COVID-19 dead period.

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Also named by the Division I Committee on Infractions panel is noncoaching staff member Anthony Garnett. At the time, Herm Edwards was the head coach at Arizona State.

The Division I Committee on Infractions approved a negotiated resolution in April between the school and four other individuals. In that resolution, the sides agreed to the violations and penalties in this case. Three other parties did not participate in the processing of the case. Their violations and penalties were included in the agreement.

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According to the NCAA, the majority of those violations related to a scheme that saw Pierce and other staff members team up with a booster and arrange unofficial visits for the dead period during Covid-19.

Among the activities that occurred during those visits were tryouts, football facility tours, and entertainment for 35 prospects and their families. Free meals, apparel, airfare, and/or lodging for 27 prospects were also provided, often in collaboration with the booster, who the NCAA says was the parent of a then-football student-athlete in the program.

On top of these activities occurring during a dead period, the meals, travel expenses, and entertainment are all considered impermissible recruiting inducements. The entertainment itself included taking a prospect’s parents to a gentleman’s club.

Other assistant coaches working at Arizona State at the time reportedly pointed to Antonio Pierce as the leader of the recruiting violations. They claim that he directed actions and that “they feared that not complying with Pierce’s directives would result in losing their jobs.” On top of that, Pierce is also accused of directing assistants to tamper with players on other rosters.

Pierce denied planning or arranging any portion of the visits, providing recruiting inducements, or participating in the out-of-state contacts and evaluations. He also failed to provide pertinent financial documentation. Because of that, the NCAA feels as though he failed to cooperate with the investigation.

In the NCAA’s 67-page public infractions decision on Arizona State, it is also noted that “Pierce did not fear the potential consequences for NCAA violations due to the financial security provided by his self-proclaimed wealth.”

With that, Antonio Pierce has an eight-year show-cause penalty. If he is hired during that time, he shall be suspended from all athletically related activities for 100% of the first season of his employment. Garnett, for his part, received a five-year show-cause penalty.

Pierce, today, is the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. He’s worked with the Raiders in some capacity since 2022 after leaving Arizona State. With that, he’s not impacted by his show-cause penalty directly unless he wants to return to college.

While the NFL doesn’t have an official bylaw on the matter of coaches being punished in the NFL for issues that came up while they coached in college, there is some precedent going back to Jim Tressel. He became a consultant for the Indianapolis Colts after resigning from Ohio State amid a recruiting scandal that saw him suspended for five games. In response, he didn’t join the Colts until Week 7 of the 2011 season.