When it comes to investigating college athletics, there may not be a better person out there than Yahoo's Dan Wetzel. He again appears to be at the forefront of another big story, as this time the University of Oregon has found themselves in trouble over an apparent $25,000 recruiting scandal with scouting service owner Willie Lyles.
Lyles apparently was paid the money by Oregon to provide recruiting services, though the services went well beyond the normal recruiting practices. He was paid to steer players to the University of Oregon, in fact Texas high school athlete Lache Seastrunk signed with Oregon in 2010 against the will of his mother. Lyles petitioned to have Seastrunk's grandmother sign the national letter of intent to attend Oregon, going around Seastrunk's mother who had doubts about wanting her son to attend Oregon.
There are also hand written cards sent to Lyles by Oregon head coach Chip Kelly and assistant Tom Osborne thanking Lyles for his help in recruiting the state of Texas. Among the other recruits who Lyles helped steer to Oregon is star running back LaMichael James, an early front runner for the Heisman Trophy in 2011.
Included in the report are numerous phone records and emails that deemed Oregon may have gotten caught with their hand in the cookie jar during these actions. The NCAA currently has no comment, but as with the ongoing saga at Ohio State, you know the NCAA compliance committee is certainly taking a look into Will Lyles and his relationship with Oregon.
The full article from Wetzel and Charles Robinson can be found here.