Arizona State will not play in a bowl game in 2023 after self-imposing a one-year bowl ban Sunday morning, a decision that acknowledges the severity of the evidence in the ongoing NCAA case against the school’s football program.
Arizona State’s decision comes amid an investigation that began during the tenure of former coach Herm Edwards, whose job with the Sun Devils ended three games into last season after an embarrassing loss to Eastern Michigan. The specter of the NCAA investigation into allegations of repeated and gratuitous recruiting violations has scattered many of the program’s best players.
The heart of the investigation comes from a dossier of documents sent to the NCAA on May 31, 2021, that detailed a trove of recruiting violations, including persistent ignoring of the restrictions implemented during the COVID-19 recruiting dead period. The allegations from the dead period included the mother of a player purchasing tickets for travel to campus, staff members giving tours to up to a dozen recruits in vans when visitors were prohibited, and a position coach working out a prospect in a local park while he was in town and evaluating the video of the illicit workout in an offensive staff meeting.
The fallout from the case has already been significant, as it has led to five full-time coaches leaving the staff or being fired, including defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce, alleged as the ringleader who created a culture in which rule breaking was rewarded. Pierce and former offensive coordinator Zak Hill are among the coaches no longer on staff.
The timing of the bowl ban is a difficult one for the current team, which was informed by school officials at an early-morning meeting Sunday, just days before it opens the season Thursday night against Southern Utah. That game marks the debut of first-year coach Kenny Dillingham.
A source told ESPN that the reaction among the players in the team meeting was “devastating.” Approximately 20 players on the roster are expected to play their final season.
“Their entire goal this year was to right the ship and to make a bowl game,” a source told ESPN of the seniors and veterans.
Dillingham told reporters that he learned of the bowl ban Sunday morning. He called the situation “upsetting” but added that he wanted his players to find motivation from their circumstances.
“It’s my job to try to get our team and rally our team behind each other to go compete and go work at the highest level,” Dillingham said.
More than 50 of Arizona State’s players were recruited by Dillingham and did not get recruited by Edwards or his staff. The bowl ban is expected to eventually result in a one-year contract extension for Dillingham, who had protections built into his initial five-year deal tied to the NCAA investigation.
The decision to self-impose a bowl ban comes at an interesting inflection point for NCAA enforcement. Tennessee faced a similarly daunting volume of allegations in its recent NCAA case, but the Volunteers escaped a postseason ban with a punishment that included an $8 million fine. That decision prompted speculation that bowl bans may be an antiquated tool for punishment in NCAA enforcement, as recent decisions were made under the backdrop of NIL rules that have changed the conventional paradigms of amateurism.
Also, the fairness of punishing those not connected to the alleged violations has emerged as a hot-button issue. Arizona State’s decision to self-impose this punishment hints at the severity of what is expected to be alleged by NCAA enforcement. There is expected to be additional punishment coming for the Sun Devils — whose nine major NCAA violations exceed that of any other major conference school — and the individual coaches who are under investigation.
It is unclear whether Arizona State was offered a similar fine that Tennessee was issued, but it is notable that Arizona State’s athletic department resources are not in the same financial hemisphere as Tennessee’s. A department spokesperson declined to comment when asked specifically whether some type of fine had been an option, citing the ongoing case.
Arizona State athletic director Ray Anderson said in a statement Sunday that the school would not comment further because of the ongoing investigation. The notice of allegations in the case has yet to be delivered, sources said.
Both Edwards and Pierce are not expected to return to college coaching. After leaving Arizona State, Edwards joined ESPN as an analyst in November, returning to a role he held from 2009 until his hiring by the school.
The notice of allegations is expected to be delivered at some point this season. The case is expected to feature an unusual number of former coaches and staff members cooperating, as the original dossier came together as a text chain among Arizona State coaches in shock over the number of rules violations happening in the program. They included specifics rare in NCAA cases, such as a picture of Edwards taking a person alleged to be a top-100 recruit for a tour around the Arizona State weight room during a dead period.
The text chain became the basis of the information that was brought to the NCAA. The dossier included evidence with pictures and documentation of flights for recruits arranged by assistant coaches and the mother of a former player booking trips for recruits and their families.
Hockey fans often hear about the dreaded Stanley Cup hangover, when a team falters in the season after their championship. But a Presidents’ Trophy hangover?
Last season, the New York Rangers finished on top of the regular-season standings. This season, it’s looking less likely by the day that they’ll even make the playoffs.
When play begins Monday, the Rangers will be six points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. With only six games left, they’ll need to come close to running the table, and will also need help from Montreal’s opponents.
Monday’s game is home against the Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+). The Lightning have clinched a berth but will still be playing hard as they have a chance to catch the Toronto Maple Leafs for the top spot in the Atlantic Division.
As noted, New York will need to gin up a winning streak here to bolster its chances. As for the Canadiens, they close out with a somewhat easier schedule: home against the Detroit Red Wings, at the Ottawa Senators and Maple Leafs, then home for the Chicago Blackhawks and the Hurricanes.
So that’s the task ahead for the Blueshirts. Will they come through?
With the regular season ending April 17, we’ll help you track it all with the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details on all the playoff races, along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Points: 83 Regulation wins: 27 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 5 Points pace: 88.4 Next game: @ DAL (Tuesday) Playoff chances: 1.4% Tragic number: 2
Points: 74 Regulation wins: 23 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 6 Points pace: 79.8 Next game: vs. EDM (Monday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Points: 72 Regulation wins: 27 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 5 Points pace: 76.7 Next game: @ LA (Monday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Points: 50 Regulation wins: 14 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 6 Points pace: 54.0 Next game: vs. CGY (Monday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Note: An “x” means that the team has clinched a playoff berth. An “e” means that the team has been eliminated from playoff contention.
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process are here. Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters, is No. 1 on the draft board.
The Utah Hockey Club will open a new practice and training facility for team use on Sept. 1, the team announced Monday.
The 115,780-square-foot facility, built on the southeastern end of a Sandy shopping mall, will house two NHL standard ice sheets. It will also include training, medical and dining facilities as well as team locker rooms.
Building a practice facility quickly was one of the immediate challenges Utah owner Ryan Smith faced in bringing an NHL team to the Beehive State. The Utah Olympic Oval, which is primarily used for speedskating events, served as the team’s practice facility this season, but it was intended to be only a temporary solution.
“We want to be competitive in the NHL, and to do that you got to have a place where these guys can practice and they can recover, and it’s home,” Smith said. “We did a miraculous job with the Oval, but at the same time that’s not this.”
Players on Utah’s roster had input on the practice facility’s design from the dining areas to the locker rooms. The facility incorporates many of their suggestions.
“We tried to involve them as much as we can in every part of this,” Smith said.
Utah’s practice facility will also be ready for public use next January. It will feature event venues, eight community locker rooms, equipment rentals and a team store. The ice rinks will be available to the public when not in use by the team.
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Alex Ovechkin for setting an “outstanding record” as the NHL’s top career goal scorer.
In a message after Ovechkin’s 895th career goal broke a tie for the record with Wayne Gretzky in the Washington Capitals‘ game Sunday against the New York Islanders, Putin said the achievement was something Russians would celebrate.
“I congratulate you on your outstanding record. You have surpassed legendary masters in the number of goals scored in National Hockey League regular-season games,” Putin said in a statement released by the Kremlin on Monday.
Breaking Gretzky’s record “has become not only your personal success, but also a real celebration for fans in Russia and abroad,” Putin added. “I wish you health, good fortune [and] fighting spirit to conquer new heights in life and in sports.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Putin and Ovechkin had not yet spoken by phone but that Putin’s message of congratulations showed the president “highly values Ovechkin’s sporting result.”
Ovechkin has been a backer of Putin in the past and in 2017 set up a group called Putin Team on social media to show support for the Russian president, who was reelected the following year.
At the time, Ovechkin told The Associated Press and The Washington Post, “I just support my country,” and said, “It’s not about political stuff.”
Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev referred to that moment in his own statement of congratulations after Ovechkin broke the record Sunday.
He posted on social media that Ovechkin “remains a member of the Putin team and at the same time one of the main faces of world hockey, a favorite of millions and the NHL top scorer.”