Binghamton University basketball scandal

The success of Binghamton had been one of the great stories of the 2008–09 basketball season. In just the school's eighth season as a Division I program, Broadus led the Bearcats to a school record-tying 23 wins, a tie for first place in the America East Conference, and the school's first conference tournament title in 63 years. In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the No. 15-seeded Bearcats played powerful No. 2 seed Duke fairly close in the first half before losing 86–62.[2] Broadus was named the America East coach of the year.

However, many were concerned that Binghamton had cut too many corners in its bid for basketball glory, sacrificing its reputation as a strong academic institution in the process. Management professor Dennis Lasser, the school's former faculty athletics representative, helped lead the effort to move Binghamton from Division III to Division I in 2001 (after a transition period in Division II from 1998 to 2001), but was replaced as faculty athletic representative after Kevin Broadus was hired as head basketball coach. Lasser claimed that, after the coaching change, Binghamton had lowered its standards for admitting prospective basketball players to the bare minimum required by the NCAA. Additionally, ESPN analyst Tom Brennan, former coach at longtime America East member Vermont, suggested that given the risks Broadus was taking, it was possible that a conference championship might not have been worth the effort.

One major reason for Lasser and Brennan's concerns was that at least three players on the 2008–09 team had transferred to Binghamton from other schools due to academic problems.[3] One of the transfers, guard Malik Alvin, was arrested for stealing condoms from a local Walmart. While being chased by security officers, Alvin ran over a 66-year-old woman, giving her a concussion.[4] Alvin was charged with petty larceny and third-degree assault, but pleaded not guilty.[4] Alvin was suspended three games, but charges were subsequently dropped and he was back in the lineup for the rest of the season.[3] Earlier, forward Miladin Kovacevic (who was recruited by Broadus' predecessor Al Walker) beat a fellow student into a coma and fled to his native Serbia with the help of two Serbian diplomats.[5] Former player Devon McBride told The New York Times that many of his teammates frequently drank alcohol and smoked marijuana, but Broadus did not seem to make any effort to keep a rein on their off-the-court behavior.[3]

These concerns led America East commissioner Patrick Nero to talk with school president Lois DeFleur and athletic director Joel Thirer about the team's behavior.[3] The America East's other coaches reportedly voiced their displeasure with the way Broadus ran the program by bumping D.J. Rivera, the conference's leading scorer and by most accounts the league's best NBA prospect, to the conference's second team.[6][7]

Additionally, it emerged shortly after Broadus' 2007 hiring that while an assistant coach and recruiter at George Washington and Georgetown, he'd signed players from Lutheran Christian Academy, a school in Philadelphia widely accused of being a diploma mill.[3] One of those players, Mike Egerson, transferred to Lutheran Christian after earning only a 1.33 grade point average at his Delaware high school and garnering an SAT score in the 600s.[8] Shortly before Broadus was hired at Binghamton, the NCAA announced it would no longer accept coursework from Lutheran Christian and several other suspected diploma mills.[9]

On March 18, 2009, a day before Binghamton was set to take on Duke in the 2009 NCAA Tournament, Elizabeth Williams, a major gifts officer for Binghamton athletics, accused associate athletic director Jason Siegel of grabbing her breast in an elevator. The accusation was amongst larger claims of "egregious acts of sexual misconduct" in the Binghamton athletic department, which included innuendo and sexist comments in the workplace.[10]

On September 7, 2009, basketball player David Fine was found with two grams of marijuana but not arrested. On September 13, Emmanuel "Tiki" Mayben was cited for speeding and unlawful possession of marijuana after he was stopped by police.[11]

On September 14, a Binghamton student reported that her debit card was stolen and used illegally. It was revealed that basketball players had been behind the crime.[12]

On September 23, just over a month before the start of the 2009–10 season, Mayben, Binghamton's starting point guard and second-leading scorer, was arrested and charged with possessing and selling crack cocaine. Broadus, saying he'd "done all [he] could" to help Mayben, kicked him off the team the next day.[13]

On September 25, Broadus announced that five other players had been kicked off the team for unspecified violations of team rules. They included Rivera, Alvin, transfer Corey Chandler (recently arrived from Rutgers), junior college transfer Paul Crosby and walk-on David Fine. Within 48 hours, Binghamton had lost its three top scorers from the previous season. With only seven scholarship players and no experienced guards, it was widely believed that the Bearcats' 2009-10 season was over before it even started. Indeed, Lasser said that these dismissals amounted to an "implosion" of the Bearcat program.[14] Although Broadus claimed the decision was his alone, the dismissals came on the same day that SUNY chancellor Nancy Zimpher demanded that DeFleur give her a full accounting of what being done to address Mayben's arrest and other unspecified incidents. Zimpher was known for having little tolerance for athletic misconduct. While president of the University of Cincinnati, she had forced longtime basketball coach Bob Huggins to resign in 2005. Although Huggins had taken Cincinnati to heights it had not seen since the 1960s, Zimpher had been displeased with the team's poor academic performance and misbehavior off the court.[13]

On September 29, Sally Dear, a lecturer in the department of human development, was told she was being let go as part of a cost-cutting measure. However, Dear alleged the real reason was that she had gone public in February with accusations that she was being pressured to give preferential treatment to basketball players. She also said that others in her department had been pressured to change players' grades.[15] Back in February, Dear told the Times that several players in her class had been so disruptive she had frequently had to stop teaching. She had said that she did not think some of the players were taking their studies seriously. She also claimed the pressure that she had been under to cut a break for basketball players amounted to harassment.[3]

On September 30, Thirer resigned as athletic director, a post he had held since 1989.[16]

On October 2, Zimpher announced plans for a full audit of Binghamton's athletic department. Significantly, Zimpher stated that the audit would be overseen by the SUNY board of trustees, and not by Binghamton itself. On the same day, it was announced that Dear had been rehired.[17] The probe was directed by Judith Kaye, the former chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals.

Broadus (center) in 2019

On October 14, Binghamton suspended Broadus indefinitely with pay. In announcing the suspension, acting athletic director Jim Norris cited numerous "incidents of concern." Assistant coach Mark Macon, a former star at Temple, was named interim head coach.[18] The announcement came a week after Broadus publicly apologized to several of his athletic department colleagues for bringing "shame" to Binghamton by not properly controlling his program. Earlier, Broadus had admitted to contacting recruits on the first day of the period when coaches are not allowed to speak with prospects that they are scouting.[19]

On February 11, Kaye released her findings in a 99-page report. Kaye found that under pressure from Broadus, Binghamton had lowered its standards for admitting basketball players to the NCAA minimum.[20] In bowing to this pressure, Kaye said, DeFleur (who had announced her retirement a month earlier), Thirer and other officials had significantly compromised Binghamton's academic standards even though Binghamton was not prepared to take in so many academically marginal students.[21] Basketball players had been given credit for courses titled "Theories of Softball" and "Bowling I".[22]

According to the report, the mass dismissal of September 25 had not been Broadus' decision, but was ordered by Thirer. The dismissed players had been involved in several incidents reported to BU police earlier in the month. Fine had been suspected of smoking marijuana in his dorm, but was not charged even though he appeared to be high. Mayben had been cited for speeding and possession of marijuana that he said belonged to Fine. Most seriously, Rivera, Alvin, Crosby and Chandler were suspected of stealing another student's debit card and using it to buy several items. The last incident was forwarded to the Broome County district attorney; the investigation was still pending as of October 2010.[11] School officials had been willing to let Broadus handle the raft of discipline problems at first. However, after Mayben's September 23 arrest, Thirer called Broadus into his office and told him that Rivera, Alvin, Chandler, Crosby and Fine all had to go.[20]

The Kaye report found evidence of potential academic fraud by Broadus and his staff. The most damning evidence was in text message exchanges between Alvin and assistant coach Mark Hsu. In one, Alvin asked Hsu to help rewrite a paper for him because Alvin had copied it off the Internet.[11] In another, Alvin copied another paper off the Internet, but added a conclusion in his own words on advice from Hsu. Broadus was also accused of having professors change players' grades, which was never proven to be true.[21]

Almost as disturbing was a text message exchange between Broadus and Hsu in which they appeared to discuss coaching the players on what to tell school police during the investigation of the stolen debit card.[11] Indeed, school police believed that Rivera was taking the fall for the debit card incident to cover for his teammates.[20]

Also damaging was the role played by Valerie Hampton, an Affirmative Action Officer, charged with ensuring that the university is free of discrimination, harassment and violations of civil rights. She questioned admissions about their reasons for denying admissions, something that would happen only if there were allegations of discrimination, something she knew had not taken place. She had thought she could exert pressure on staff by implying that she suspected they were racist and were discriminating against the players, which she knew was not the case. Hampton's conduct was particularly troubling because she was hoping to gain from falsely alleging discrimination something those reporting actual discrimination are often accused of. She was rewarded with a promotion soon after the corruption was revealed.[23]

The report revealed that many of the America East's coaches and athletic directors were also concerned that Broadus was recruiting players with a history of behavior problems. The America East has long believed that one member's perception can directly affect that of the whole conference. For instance, Mayben had previously been recruited by Syracuse, but the Orange lost interest due to Mayben's academic problems and frequent suspensions from high school. Another recruit, Theus Davis, had been kicked out of Gonzaga for drug problems. By the fall of 2009, several of the conference's athletic directors and presidents mulled the idea of kicking Binghamton out of the America East Conference. Reportedly, this prompted DeFleur to promise her fellow conference presidents that Thirer's contract would not be renewed.[20]

Kaye recommended, among other things, that SUNY appoint an "athletic oversight officer" for the entire SUNY system, reporting directly to the chancellor.[11]

In a conference call with reporters, Zimpher said, "I am disappointed that a great institution like Binghamton University would, in any way, because of its athletic program, compromise its terrific academic reputation." She also promised sweeping changes.[21]

Macon was forced to hold tryouts in October to replenish his decimated roster, adding Mikey Horn, Preston Pena, Javon Ralling, and Charlie Fackler to the roster.[24] He also had to deal with two of his assistants, Hsu and Julius Allen, being fired midseason, leaving him with only one assistant coach.[25] Under the circumstances, he kept the Bearcats fairly competitive. The Bearcats managed to finish with a .500 record in America East play, and 13–18 overall, with seven of their losses by 10 points or less.

On March 1, DeFleur announced that the Bearcats would sit out the 2010 conference tournament and were withdrawing from postseason consideration. She said that given the current turmoil in the program, "it is not appropriate that we play in this year's postseason."[25] Although Nero said the decision was Binghamton's alone,[26] two America East sources told the Times that the league's other members did not want the Bearcats in the tournament and pressured them to withdraw.[25] This reinforced the notion that the America East's other athletic directors and presidents were seriously considering expelling Binghamton from the league.

Zimpher eventually assigned SUNY’s interim provost, David K. Lavallee, to lead an overall effort for the SUNY system to ensure that academics remain the highest priority; and Charles R. Westgate, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Binghamton, as a special adviser for academics and athletics for the SUNY system: moves some critics of the over-emphasis on athletics decried as insufficient. Zimpher also announced that while Broadus will not return as coach, a permanent replacement will not be hired until the school has a permanent president and athletic director.[27]

On March 26, Broadus filed a racial discrimination complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights. Broadus claimed that he was being treated more harshly than other Binghamton coaches whose players had been arrested simply because he was the only minority coach at the school.[28]

The Kaye report was forwarded to the NCAA, which could have issued its own sanctions in addition to Binghamton's own decision to pull out of postseason play. On October 18, the NCAA found that Hsu had committed two secondary violations by providing impermissible travel to two players. However, due to lack of cooperation from involved parties, the NCAA was unable to find any major violations. At the same time, Broadus was reinstated to the athletic department. Although Broadus' lawyer stated that he believed his client had been exonerated, Zimpher reiterated that he will not return as coach.[29][30] On October 28, Broadus announced he was filing a federal discrimination lawsuit against Binghamton and SUNY. Hours later, the three parties reached a settlement in which Broadus would resign and take a $1.2 million buyout in return for dropping all legal action against Binghamton or SUNY.[30]

In November 2011, senior Kyrie Sutton, the last remaining player from Binghamton's 2009 champion squad, was dismissed from the team after he was arrested for the misdemeanor of criminal possession of stolen property. It was Sutton's fourth legal incident since joining Binghamton.[31] Nearly a year later, in October 2012, senior Javon Ralling and freshman Jordan Reed were suspended after both were arrested for disorderly conduct. Ralling was also charged with resisting arrest.[32]

On April 30, 2012, Mark Macon was fired as head coach of the men's basketball team. Macon's Bearcats began the 2011–12 season with a 0–26 record, the last remaining winless team in Division I, and ended the regular season at 1–28 for the worst season in program history. In three seasons as head coach, Macon went 24–68 in his tenure.[33]

In the fall of 2013, Valerie Hampton was promoted.[23] In May 2014, Binghamton University became one of four New York universities, and the only SUNY, being investigated for suspected Title IX civil rights violations.[34]

Binghamton's basketball program has never recovered from the scandal. From 2010 to 2020, the Bearcats amassed a record of 90–250 (.265), going 42–134 (.239) in America East conference play.[35]

• Kaye report (from SUNY Website)