The University of Oregon athletic department today released far more detail than it previously had on it’s football teams dealings with recruiting ‘analyst’ Willie Lyles. The Ducks paid Lyles $25,000 for ‘scouting services’ almost immediately after signing two top-Texas high school recruits who Lyles had been advising.
It’s unclear whether the key disclosures help or hinder the Ducks defense of their practices.
The positive news:
- Willy Lyles paid his own expenses for the trip he took to a Florida awards show with Heisman finalist LaMichael James
- Oregon was in contact with the NCAA by 9:30am the day that Yahoo broke the story of the questionable payment to Lyles
The concerning news:
- Oregon revealed details on their scouting service payments which includes no payments over $10,000 other than the payment to Lyles making it appear to be outside normal practices
Will the Ducks wind up facing NCAA sanctions? These documents don’t show anything that provides a clear answer but there are enough open questions to say that Oregon Football isn’t out of the woods yet.
Check out all the documents via The Oregonian
