UCLA Soccer Coach Jorge Salcedo Resigns After Being Named in NCAA Bribery Probe

UCLA men's soccer coach Jorge Salcedo is the latest person feeling the heat from a U.S. Justice Department investigation into an extensive college admissions and testing bribery scheme. 

Joel Anderson of ESPN reported Thursday night Salcedo has resigned in the aftermath of an indictment last week for allegedly accepting payments totaling $200,000. Salcedo's indictment is connected to William "Rick" Singer, the Newport Beach-based businessman who has been at the center of the probe. 

Singer is accused of using his college counseling service to solicit money from parents in order to get their children accepted into prestigious universities such as UCLA. The probe has been in the mainstream news for over a week because of the indictments of successful actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin. 

Anderson relayed that court documents reflect Salcedo allegedly accepting two separate $100,000 payments from Singer to admit one male and one female student under the false pretense that they were soccer recruits. Neither played competitive soccer.

On March 12, following Salcedo's indictment, UCLA and UCLA Athletics released a joint statement that read, in part, "The conduct alleged in the filings revealed today is deeply disturbing and in contrast with the expectations we have of our coaches to lead their teams with honesty and integrity." 

The 2018 season was Salcedo's 15th as head coach for the Bruins. His overall record was 172-80-42, including 14 NCAA championship appearances, and he was the second-longest tenured men's soccer coach in program history, per the Daily Bruin.