University of Southwestern Louisiana basketball scandal

This followed an investigation in which the association discovered that the program had been fielding academically ineligible players and paying student athletes, in violation of the NCAA's rules.

As a result, the NCAA applied the "death penalty" to the program, barring them from competing for two years, in addition to other forms of punishment that included a probation period and a removal of voting rights in the association.

In one instance, the NCAA found that an assistant coach had doctored a player's transcript and forged a signature in order to demonstrate his eligibility.

The punishments have consistently been considered the most severe in the NCAA's history, and as of the 2010s, it remains one of only five times that the death penalty has been applied to a member institution.

Following the two-year death penalty period, the university resumed its basketball program under the direction of new head coach Jim Hatfield.

[1] In 1966, Elvin Ivory, Leslie Scott, and Marv Winkler enrolled at Southwestern Louisiana as the first three black basketball players recruited by Shipley.

[2] Due to the rules violation, the NCAA placed the university on probation,[1][4] which barred the team from having their games televised and competing in postseason play.

[5] The investigation and probation caused the program to be placed under heightened scrutiny and created a public perception that Shipley was engaging in financial misconduct with his players.

[1] Under Shipley, the program had many sellout games at their home venue, the Blackham Coliseum, and twice made it to the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

[2] In November 1972, the NCAA notified the university that they had conducted an initial investigation into the allegations and "found them to be of sufficient substance and reliability to warrant an official inquiry".

[2] Louisiana Attorney General William J. Guste had requested the injunction on the grounds that the NCAA had not given the university enough time to prepare a legal defense.

[7] Among other charges, the association alleged that the university and boosters had made improper payments to student athletes and recruits,[8] typically in the range of between $10 and $30 (between $69 and $206 in 2023).

[12] Shipley in particular was accused of allowing student athletes to freely use his car and assisting them financially in the form of paying for gasoline and giving them personal loans with possibly no repayment required.

[6] Per the investigation, it was alleged that coaches had a plan in place with a nearby gas station to allow players to use a university credit card there.

[1] Additionally, the NCAA accused the university of giving high school basketball player Greg Procell $150 ($1,129 in 2023) in exchange for him committing to play at Southwestern Louisiana.

[6] Shipley called the charges "political" and "picayune", saying that, while there had been some negligence on the university's part in following proper recruiting guidelines, the scandal was mostly the result of the "bitter" former graduate assistant.

[1] Shortly before his death of cancer in April 2011, he participated in an interview with Sports Illustrated where he discussed his legacy, with particular emphasis on his time at Southwestern Louisiana.