Ex-Texas Tennis Coach Michael Center Will Plead Guilty in Admissions Scandal

Former Texas tennis coach Michael Center reportedly will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud in a wide-ranging federal college admissions case, according to a release sent by federal prosecutors in Boston (via Dan Murphy of ESPN.com). 

Per Murphy, Center is the "second college coach to admit he accepted bribe money in a scheme with college counselor William 'Rick' Singer to falsely identify college applicants as prospective athletes in order to help them get into college."

The U.S. attorney's office said Center received "$60,000 in cash from Singer and accepted another $40,000 donation to the Longhorns' tennis program in exchange for falsely listing the child of one of Singer's clients as a tennis recruit."

Center is facing a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. 

Yale women's soccer coach Rudy Meredith also pleaded guilty in the case, while former Stanford sailing head coach, John Vandemoer, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit racketeering, per Eric Levenson of CNN.com.

The scandal has implicated several high-profile parents, including actress Felicity Huffman, who was one of 13 parents to plead guilty in the case. Actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, have not pleaded guilty, however.  

The bribery scheme ran through Singer, who pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering, money laundering and fraud for "facilitating cheating on standardized tests or by lying about students' involvement in sports and convincing college coaches to take part in the lie," per Murphy.