ESPN: NCAA’s Verdict On Tim Floyd Due Friday

ESPN is reporting the NCAA’s verdict on new UTEP men’s basketball coach Tim Floyd will be released on Friday.

Floyd is accused of paying a handler to help steer a recruit to the University of Southern California when he was the coach there.

UTEP hired Floyd two months ago to replace Tony Barbee, who left to become the head coach at Auburn University.

Floyd was alleged to have provided a $1,000 payment to help deliver current NBA player O.J. Mayo to USC. Floyd has denied any wrongdoing and said he left USC last year due to “a lack of support”.

However, USC sanctioned its own basketball program after performing its own internal investigation. The university forfeited 21 wins from the 2007-2008 season when Floyd was coach, taking away one scholarship through the 2010-2011 season and a one-year ban on postseason play.

Because Monday was Memorial Day, UTEP officials were not available for comment, but athletic director Bob Stull told the Associated Press recently the school did its “due diligence” prior to hiring Floyd and is confident the coach will be cleared.

Stull added, “Tim had never had a previous NCAA violation and from further investigation we, along with five other universities who were trying to hire him, felt like it was unlikely for (the) allegations to be valid.”