TCU Gets Notice of Allegations in Connection with FBI Corruption Investigation

TCU became the fifth school to receive an NCAA notice of allegations in response to the FBI's investigation into the corruption scandal involving numerous Division I programs.

Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated, who broke the news, reported the following:

"The specific allegations of NCAA violations made by NCAA Enforcement against TCU is not known, and the school did not release the NOA. TCU did supply a statement to SI Wednesday night saying, 'TCU has received a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA enforcement staff specific to former assistant mens basketball coach Corey Barker. There were no other individuals involved or additional allegations against the university. Per NCAA rules, because there is a pending case, TCU is not permitted to comment further.'

"The NCAA does not release its Notices of Allegations and declined comment to SI Wednesday."

Dean Straka of the Dallas Morning News reported in March 2019 that TCU fired Barker near the end of his third season with the program and provided more details regarding the specific allegation:

"In a March 7 court filing in the Southern District of New York, an unnamed assistant from a Texas university was alleged to have received a payment of $6,000 from former sports agent Christian Dawkins, with the intent of steering players towards Dawkins' agency upon declaring for the NBA draft. According to Yahoo! Sports' Dan Wetzel, Barker was the unnamed assistant referenced.

"Per Engel, former TCU point guard Jaylen Fisher -- who announced he'd be transferring from the program mid-season -- was the player Dawkins attempted to have Barker steer towards his agency. Fisher accepted no money, per the report."

USC, Oklahoma State, Kansas and NC State are the other schools that have received notices of allegations, per Forde. NC State is the only school to respond to the NCAA's allegations and said in a statement that it "strenuously disputes" at least one of the charges.

Per Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the nature of the allegations against TCU are unclear. However, Davison wrote that comparisons to other cases within the corruption case make it seem "likely" that it will be a Level I charge, which is the most severe penalty.

Barker, who joined TCU before the 2016-17 season, helped guide the Horned Frogs to the 2017 NIT title. He was an assistant at Louisiana Tech, Bowling Green and Arkansas State in his three stops prior to arriving in Fort Worth, Texas.

Per Davison, the coach has not been charged with a crime.

TCU entered Wednesday with an 11-3 overall record and a 2-0 Big 12 mark, good enough for an early first-place tie with Baylor atop the conference.