Oklahoma State responds to upcoming Sports Illustrated allegations of athletic wrongdoing

The articles will accuse OSU a number of  serious violations of NCAA rules and some illegal acticivty as well.

Among the accusations are payments from coaches and boosters to players including money based on game perfomances. There are also stories about a bonus program run by former assistant coach Joe DeForest, now at West Virginia. Mountaineer athletic director Oliver Luck has reponded saying "while our assistant football coach has denied the allegations, it is the right thing to do to look into the matter and review practices here."

Oklahoma State will also be accused of tampering with grades including players work being done by other students and changing of grades.

The magazine will claim there was sex between players and their Orange Pride hostesses and some allegations of drug abuse among players as well.

The articles will claim the wrongdoing took place duing the Le Miles era in Stillwater and wil lnot accuse any current players and coaches of being involved. Miles was asked about the accusations after his team hammered UAB over the weekend.

"I don't know of any improprieties while I was coaching there. We always did things right," Miles began. He defended the program further saying "it has never been a place where you needed to cheat to have success."

Oklahoma State released the following statement Saturday afternoon:

(STILLWATER, Okla., September 7, 2013) -- Sports Illustrated has informed Oklahoma State University that it plans to publish a series of articles beginning this week about alleged misconduct in the OSU football program starting in 2001. Sports Illustrated advised that the articles are based on interviews with former players, coaches and staff members. In meetings with OSU officials, Sports Illustrated outlined allegations involving inappropriate activities and actions, the vast majority of which occurred between 2001 and 2007.

The allegations outlined do not involve any current coaches or players.

“Oklahoma State University is deeply troubled by these claims. We will investigate the accuracy of the allegations and take all appropriate action,” said OSU President Burns Hargis. “We do not condone or tolerate improper conduct in our athletic programs. OSU requires everyone affiliated with the university to follow the rules and adhere to the highest ethical standards. Sports Illustrated did not provide OSU all the specifics of the accusations, or the names of those it interviewed. And it appeared some of the accusations are based on hearsay. Once the stories are published and OSU has more details, it will investigate them thoroughly with the assistance of an independent investigator. OSU has contacted the NCAA and advised it of the accusations described.”

OSU Vice President of Athletics Mike Holder said, “We are shocked by the allegations raised about our football program. We take the allegations seriously. Whether they have merit or not, we don’t know. But we will find out. “Our athletic department understands the high expectations OSU President Burns Hargis and the OSU Board of Regents have set for us. Our coaches and staff understand we will not tolerate any violations that compromise our pursuit of excellence, the highest of ethical standards, and full compliance with NCAA rules and regulations,” Holder said.

He continued, “We are committed to playing by the rules on and off the field. We strive to be a source of pride for our fans, our university and the Big 12 Conference.” In closing, Holder expressed confidence in Coach Gundy and the staff and their commitment to the highest standards. “Our most important mission is doing all we can to prepare our student athletes to be successful and productive citizens throughout their lives,” Holder said.

Sports Illustrated notified OSU officials on August 28 of the planned series, which they said has been in the works for almost a year. Senior writer George Dohrmann and executive editor B.J. Schecter came to Stillwater the week of September 2 to provide details of the series and said reporter Thayer Evans also was part of the reporting team.

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