LSU Wades Into Choppy Waters in Fired Hoops Assistant’s Trial

Opening arguments were set to begin Tuesday morning in an eight-day jury trial in Louisiana stemming from the 2022 firing of former LSU associate head men’s basketball coach Bill Armstrong, who alleges the university breached his contract and sacrificed his rights in an effort to appease the NCAA. 

Armstrong, along with then-head coach Will Wade, was fired following an NCAA infractions case involving LSU's men's basketball and football programs. Wade subsequently took head coaching jobs at McNeese and then North Carolina State before eventually returning to LSU earlier this year.</p><strong>More from Sportico.com</strong><p>
Armstrong, meanwhile, succeeded Wade at McNeese, where he was hired by former athletic director Heath Schroyer, who has since become LSU's senior deputy AD.


Wade personally endorsed Armstrong's hiring at McNeese.


"Bill and I share the same philosophy," Wade was quoted as saying at the time. "He's a relentless recruiter, tireless worker, and he pays attention to the important details."


Now, more than four years after the two were fired, Wade is expected to serve as a key witness for Armstrong in his damages suit against his former employer—and Wade's current one—setting the stage for an unusually uncomfortable courtroom reunion between the former colleagues.


The trial is also expected to feature former LSU athletic director Scott Woodward—who was pushed out last fall amid pressure from Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry—and former president William F. Tate IV, now the president at Rutgers.


On March 7, 2022, the NCAA's complex case unit issued a notice of allegations against LSU's basketball and football programs, which identified Armstrong in two of the charges. The first involved an impermissible contact with the family of a prospective recruit at a restaurant in 2019, which the NCAA's complex case unit classified as a Level II violation.


The second was a Level I allegation that Armstrong had offered $300,000 to a different recruit's relative in 2020, as an inducement for the player to attend LSU. The allegation came as LSU was already under scrutiny from the Justice Department as part of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan's probe into college basketball recruiting. Wade had previously been captured on an FBI wiretap talking to agent <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sportico.com/leagues/college-sports/2024/christian-dawkins-seros-college-basketball-nil-1234799525/">Christian Dawkins</a>, who was at the center of what the feds termed Operation Ballerz.


On March 12, 2022, five days after the NCAA issued its notice of allegations, LSU announced that Wade and Armstrong had been terminated for cause. Armstrong's contract gave him the right to challenge a for-cause termination if he provided written notice within five days. His attorney submitted a timely challenge on March 17.  On June 3, Woodward formally responded by reaffirming the school's decision.


Armstrong contends that Woodward gave his challenge no meaningful consideration. 


In a deposition, Woodward said he found it "incredulous" Armstrong would "engage in this conduct in 2020, given everything going on."


Armstrong initially sued LSU in federal court in December 2022, but the case was dismissed on jurisdiction grounds. In December 2023, he filed a petition for damages in Louisiana's 19th Judicial District Court, alleging LSU "knew beyond doubt that there was no objective evidence … supporting the NCAA allegations."


Despite this, Armstrong claims, LSU decided to sacrifice him to appease the NCAA, and the "gambit paid off." A year after the infractions case began, the NCAA Independent Resolution Panel cleared Armstrong, stating that there was "insufficient credible and persuasive" information to establish he had bribed recruits or their families with money. 


Wade, meanwhile, received a two-year show-cause order and 10-game suspension after being found to have committed multiple Level I violations, including paying the former fiancée of a player money in exchange for a promise not to disclose potential rules violations. 


In addition to Wade, Woodward and Tate, Armstrong's witness list includes Bo Kerr, a former Samford athletic official who was expected to testify that Armstrong's termination by LSU interfered with his ability to recommend him for Samford's men's basketball coaching position. Armstrong also planned to call three expert witnesses: Joshua Lens of The Compliance Group, Jeff Schemmel of College Sports Solutions and Renee McMahon of Charles River Associates.


LSU previously identified athletic director Verge Ausberry, deputy AD Lori Williams and former executive AD Stephanie Rempe—now the athletic director at Nevada—among the 12 witnesses it intends to call. The school's experts include Christopher Brown of Brown Athletics Consulting, and forensic accountant Philip P. Monteleone.</p><strong>Best of Sportico.com</strong><p>Sign up for <a href="https://cloud.email.sportico.com/signup/">Sportico's Newsletter</a>. For the latest news, follow us on <a href="http://bit.ly/31XsHSx">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://bit.ly/2TkcoeG">Twitter</a>, and <a href="http://bit.ly/2TntOHq">Instagram</a>.