Nike's EYBL Reportedly Served Subpeona in FBI Investigation

Nike's Elite Youth Basketball League is the latest institution to be involved in the FBI's ongoing investigation of college basketball.  

According to Darren Rovell and Aaron Katersky of ESPN.com, the youth league has been subpoenaed and, while it hasn't been named in the FBI's case, "a former employee who ran it, Merl Code, is one of the defendants."

As Dan Wolken of USA Today noted, those subpoenas could open up a whole new branch of the FBI's investigation. He wrote, "I’m sure there’s nothing interesting in docs that might show how much money Nike funnels to EYBL teams and which individuals cash those checks."

It's the latest development in the FBI's three-year investigation into bribery and fraud in college basketball regarding "coaches being paid tens of thousands of dollars to steer NBA-bound players toward sports agents, financial advisers and apparel companies," according to Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com.

Assistant coaches Chuck Person (Auburn), Lamont Evans (Oklahoma State), Emanuel Richardson (Arizona) and Tony Bland (USC) were among 10 men charged with bribery and corruption, which also included current Adidas employee, Code, and Adidas' director of global sports marketing, James Gotto.

In the wake of the investigation, meanwhile, Louisville head coach Rick Pitino was put on unpaid university leave and Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich was placed on paid administrative leave, per ESPN.com. The university's president, Greg Postel, confirmed Wednesday the school and basketball program were being investigated.