2017 FBI probe sent coaches to jail, got others fired. This March Madness was a reunion

On Sept. 26, 2017, the FBI and federal law enforcement authorities set off a massive explosion in college basketball that led tothe arrests of several coachesand the eventual suspension or firing of several others.

The list included then-USC assistant coachTony Bland, who was arrested that day on bribery-related charges. The fallout from it also ensnared Louisville head coach Rick Pitino (fired in 2017), Arizona head coach Sen Miller (fired in 2021) Kansas head coach Bill Self (suspended in 2022), and LSU head coach Will Wade (fired in 2022).

But those coaches and several others since have been forgiven and even had a comeback party of sorts this month as active coaches in the NCAA Tournament. Wade alsojust got rehired as head coach at LSU, as if nothing ever happened, serving as a reminder about what really matters in college sports once all the FBI dust settles.

"Some had short exiles and punishments, but when you win, there's always a spot," saidDavid Ridpath, a sports business professor at Ohio University.

These March Madness comeback stories (see list below) also raise other big concerns on the eve of theFinal Fourin Indianapolis, according to observers.

One is whether this crackdown had any lasting purpose or should have happened in the first place. Another relates to former Arizona assistant coach Emanuel "Book" Richardson, who's still paying a price for it even after serving 90 days in federal prison.

"It is a continuing, profound injustice," one of his advocates said recently.

Iowa State Cyclones fans cheer against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Enterprise Center on March 22, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Nebraska's Berke Buyuktuncel celebrates with fans following a second-round game in the NCAA men's basketball tournament between Nebraska Cornhuskers and Vanderbilt Commodores at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on March 21, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Arkansas Razorbacks cheerleaders in the second half against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Moda Center on March 19, 2026 in Portland, Ore.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> A Texas Christian University Horned Frogs cheerleader practices before the game during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 19, 2026 in Greenville, SC.

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Iowa State Cyclones fans cheer against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half in the second round of the2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournamentat Enterprise Center on March 22, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri.

What was illegal then is now generally legal

The FBI investigation and the NCAA rules enforcement cases that followed aimed to crack down on alleged bribes andillegal payments to recruits or their families, which now seems quaint. NCAA rules have since changed to legalize certain payments to players for their names, images, and likenesses (NIL), starting in 2021.

A sports apparel company such as Adidas now can legally pay players directly for their NIL, unlike back then, when an Adidasconsultant testified at trial in 2018that he provided illicit payments to the families of recruits, including recruits forKansasandLouisville, two Adidas-sponsored schools. Both Louisville and Kansas got punished for it, even though they said they didn't have knowledge of it.

Kansas spent$10 million over six yearsfighting the case, which alleged Kansas was using Adidas to entice recruits with money. An Adidas employee and consultant evenwent to prison for it.

This likely never would have happened under the current rule structure.

"Everything that's happening (legally now with NIL) is just a microcosm of what's always been happening," Richardson told USA TODAY Sports on March 25. "Now we can put a name to it (NIL)."

Meanwhile, not everyone has been allowed to resume their careers like Bland, Pitino and others who took part in March Madness this month. Richardson is still effectively barred from college basketball under a 10-year show-cause penalty from the NCAA, even after serving prison time and taking responsibility for the$20,000 bribe prosecutors said he tookto steer players toward a certain agent and financial adviser once the players made it to the NBA.

That lingering punishment strikes some as just plain wrong

The Book Richardson case

Richardson, 53, is seeking a federal pardon even though he already served his prison sentence. A federal pardon would not erase the 10-year NCAA penalty that extends to 2030. But it would be a meaningful sign of forgiveness. The application for it was spearheaded by a group at New York University, including clinical professor David Hollander.

"It is a continuing, profound injustice Book Richardson remains under the professional restraint of a 10-year show-cause, given whatever other results you would like to observe have come from that FBI investigation," Hollander told USA TODAY Sports on March 25. "Excessive isn't strong enough of a word, because words don't amount to a human being's life. That's what this is about. One person's entire life has been lopsidedly hammered."

Four coaches pleaded guilty in 2019 to similar bribery charges: Richardson, Bland, former Auburn assistant Chuck Person andformer Oklahoma State assistant Lamont Evans. Richardson, Person and Evans are out of college basketball with 10-year show-cause penalties. Richardson and Evansboth did prison time, not Person or Bland. Bland only got a three-year show-cause penalty from the NCAA and is back in college basketball on the staff at Kansas.

Under-the-table bribes like those back then since have been disincentivized and replaced by over-the-table business transactions. In addition to allowing players to earn money for their NIL, the NCAA also now allows them to hire agents to manage their NIL earnings while still in college.

The timing isn't lost on Richardson, who regrets taking the money and now works in Virginia at The St. James Performance Academy.

"I did 90 days in jail, and I got out in October of 2020," Richardson said. "(Legalized) NIL happened in 2021."

More recently, Richardson noticed all those familiar names involved in March Madness this month.

List of March Madness coaches who got punished in scandal

These coaches coached in NCAA Tournament this month after previously being caught in the quagmire stemming from the FBI investigation of 2017:

∎ Tony Bland,now at Kansas, made his first NCAA Tournament appearance since his arrest.

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∎ Rick Pitino, now the head coach at St. John's, recentlymade his first Sweet 16 appearancesince his firing from Louisville.

∎ Will Wade of LSU wascaught on an FBI wiretaptalking about an "offer" and a "deal" for Javonte Smart, a top recruit who later signed with LSU before NIL was legalized. LSU fired Wade for cause in 2022 after the NCAA accused him of serious recruiting violations. The NCAA's enforcement arm also hit him with a 10-game suspension and two-year show-cause penalty. He bounced back as coach at McNeese State, then NC State, which he led to the NCAA Tournament this month. He's now back at LSU, where all has been forgiven. He recently told reporters he's "trying to follow more rules this time." He also received a hero's welcome in Baton Rouge at his re-introductory news conference March 30.

"You never get second chances in life, but we get one here," Wade said March 30.

∎ Kansas coachBill Selfwas suspended four games in 2022 after fighting the Adidas-related allegations for years. He lost in the second round to Pitino and St. John's on March 22.

∎ Head coach Sean Miller brought Texas to the NCAA Tournament this month after getting fired from Arizona in 2021 and then bouncing back at Xavier. Shortly before his firing, the NCAA charged Arizona with serious recruiting allegations stemming from the FBI case. An FBI wiretap caught Book Richardson telling an aspiring agent thatMiller "bought" star player Deandre Ayton. Miller denied it.

∎ Kansas assistant coach Kurtis Townsend wassuspended four games along with Self in 2022and was sitting right next to him in the game vs. St. John's.

∎ Former Creighton assistant coach Preston Murphy was back in the NCAA Tournament this month with Alabama after previously being punished with a two-year show-cause penaltystemming from the FBI investigation. He wasn't charged with a crime but allegedly accepted payment from a business manager seeking to entice college athletes to sign with that person's management company.

Richardson said he's happy for these coaches.

"If they have the opportunity to get back and flourish, I'd love that same opportunity," Richardson said. "I think I have a lot to give."

Rick Pitino, Bill Self and the Adidas March Madness game

Amid the backdrop of the FBI case of 2017, a second-round game on March 22 in San Diego stands out in particular.

This was a matchup betweentwo Hall of Fame coaches, nationally televised on CBS — Self and Kansas vs. Pitino at St. John's. Before the game, Self took a seat next to assistant coach Townsend on his right and Bland down the row to his left.

All wore the Adidas "three stripes" logo on their sleeves. Their star freshman guard, Darryn Peterson,has been paid by Adidas, too, and is now allowed to do so openly, unlike players before 2021.

On the other side of the court, Pitino's team also was outfitted in Adidas uniforms after reaching asponsorship deal with the company last year.

Adidas-sponsored Peterson scored 21 points, but Adidas-sponsored St. John'swon the game with a buzzer-beating layup, 67-65.

In light of all of this, what impact did this FBI case really have?

This game came just a handful of years afterAdidas representatives went to prisonand some of those coaches were punished in a case involving alleged Adidas inducements to recruits.

'It's really time to free this man'

Richardson is still feeling the impact of it at least.

"I've been to hell and back," he said.  And he never snitched on anybody, which could have helped him get a lighter sentence.

"It all could have been avoided if I just told what everyone thought I knew," Richardson said.

The NCAA and U.S. Justice Department didn't return messages seeking comment. Meanwhile, the contrast between Richardson and other active coaches hasn't gone unnoticed in college basketball.

"I am very happy for my friends, Will Wade and Sean Miller," ESPN analyst Fran Fraschillasaid on social media recently. "Not being sarcastic. But I've had discussions with the NCAA about Book Richardson & it's really time to free this man. His penalty is very, very, very unfair"

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer@Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Those caught in college basketball 2017 FBI probe enjoying March Madness

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March 31, 2026

2017 FBI probe sent coaches to jail, got others fired. This March Madness was a reunion

On Sept. 26, 2017, the FBI and federal law enforcement authorities set off a massive explosion in college basketball that...

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Clowns take to the streets of Bolivia to protest decree that could crush their livelihoods

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Dozens of clowns marched through the streets ofBolivia's capitalon Monday to protest a government decree that limits extracurricular activities, threatening their livelihoods.

Bolivia Clowns Protest

Wearing full face paint and their signature red noses, the clowns gathered in front of the Ministry of Education in La Paz to oppose a decree published in February. The new mandate says schools must comply with 200 days of lessons each year — effectively banning schools from hosting the special events where these entertainers are frequently employed.

"This decree will economically affect all of us who work with children," said Wilder Ramírez, a leader of the local clown union, who also goes by the name of Zapallito. The clown told journalists that "children need to laugh" while his colleagues wondered out loud if Bolivia's Education Minister had ever had a childhood.

Clowns in Bolivia are often hired for school festivities to entertain children during breaks from their regular lessons. One such upcoming event is Children's Day, which the country celebrates on April 12.

The decree issued by the government of recently electedPresident Rodrigo Pazsays that celebrations will no longer be authorized during regular school days, though they can be held voluntarily on weekends. Government officials said they will take the clowns' critiques into account when they make a decree for the 2027 school year.

But those assurances provided little relief to the clowns protesting Monday.

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"This decree will diminish our income, and with the economic crisis the country is going through, our future looks increasingly gloomy," said Elías Gutiérrez, a spokesperson for the Confederation of Artisanal Workers of Bolivia.

Bolivia is grappling withits worst economic crisis in decadesas revenues from natural gas plummet following a sustained decline in production, andU.S. dollars become scarce, making imports more expensive in the landlocked nation.

Tailors who work with clowns and make dresses for children participating in cultural events joined Monday's protest as well as photographers who typically work school celebrations.

The alliance of clowns, photographers and costume makers marched through the center of La Paz, blowing their whistles and setting off small fireworks.

One of the clowns carried a sign that blamed the government for "taking away smiles, and taking work away."

Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean athttps://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

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Clowns take to the streets of Bolivia to protest decree that could crush their livelihoods

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Dozens of clowns marched through the streets ofBolivia's capitalon Monday to protest a governm...

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Millions of Americans are now eligible for Canadian citizenship and many are applying ‘just in case’

When Donald Trump was first elected in 2016, New York State resident Ellen Robillard briefly looked into getting Canadian citizenship. Her mother, after all, was born in Nova Scotia.

As a Democrat, Robillard was despondent at the election results, but she abandoned the idea after realizing that her young son wouldn't be eligible for citizenship under a law that barred Canadians born abroad from passing their citizenship to children if they were also born outside Canada.

In 2023, however, the Canadian courts ruled that law unconstitutional and the changes to eligibility came into effect in December, suddenly opening up a pathway to Canadian citizenship for many Americans at a time of political upheaval, violence and uncertainty in the US.

Robillard, 52, is applying for citizenship with her son now that the first-generation rule has been scrapped.

Since criteria for citizenship expanded with the passage of Bill C-3 of Canada's Citizenship Act, millions of Americans have become eligible to claim Canadian citizenship. The amendment reverses a "first-generation" limit imposed by Canada's Conservative government in 2009.

As the leader of her local Democratic Committee in a suburb of Rochester, New York, Robillard fears that if the political violence escalates, she could have a target on her back.

Robillard is an outspoken activist in her town of 3,000, has received veiled threats on social media, and was once followed home after a protest.

She's suffered from burnout, depression and insomnia over political disagreements and has fallen out with friends and family. She's become increasingly disillusioned with her life in the US.

"I really don't recognize my world anymore," Robillard says.

A spring trip to her mother's birthplace of Nova Scotia last year helped her reconnect with her Canadian heritage and cemented the idea.

"The experience of being there was so interesting. I felt like a different person there. It was so much less stressful. Everyone was nicer," she says. "I observed so many positive interactions between people and it just made my heart so full to be there."

The revised law will allow her to pass on her citizenship to her son, who is now 19. In light of the political climate in the US, both are gathering the required documents in preparation for her Plan B.

"If things start deteriorating here with our economy, I know that I can just get in the car and go. It's an option anyway."

Huge uptick in Canadian citizenship queries

Since the new bill was passed, Ottawa-based regulated immigration consultant Cassandra Fultz says her American caseload has soared tenfold, from an average of 10 to 100 applications a month. As long as applicants can provide proof of direct lineage from a Canadian citizen, they can make claims going back generations, be it a grandparent or great-great-grandparent. Should the chain of citizenship break somewhere along the line, however, where an ancestor renounced their citizenship, rights to Canadian citizenship end there.

Fultz, who is a dual American-Canadian citizen herself, also points out that she's handled queries from disgruntled Americans after every US election cycle — regardless of political party. But the demand has always been short-lived, she says, peaking in November and waning by January. This wave has been markedly different.

"There's been a very steady increase in interest in moving to Canada since November 2024, which is unprecedented. I've never seen this in my 17 years in the industry," says Fultz.

"Usually people just get over it. But it's already nearing the mid-terms and people are very interested, even two years later."

It's a similar story at theNational Library and Archives of Québec(BAnQ). In February 2025, the archive services received 100 requests from the US for marriage, death and baptismal records. In February of this year, that figure ballooned to 1,500, a spokesperson tells CNN.

At the time of writing, theprocessing timefor citizenship certificates from the US is 10 months, with about 50,900 people currently waiting for a decision, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

'It's a very scary time right now'

When Rachel Rabb left the US in 2018, she thought she was escaping the anti-immigrant policies and threats of racial violence she feared under the first Trump administration. The American citizen assumed that she'd left it all behind as she settled into her new life in Latin America.

At least there, Rabb, who is biracial with an African-American father and Irish-German mother, felt that she wouldn't have to worry about being assaulted or harassed for her skin color. She thought she was safe.

But Donald Trump's re-election in 2024 reawakened old fears and followed her to Costa Rica and Mexico where she now divides her time — and where she finds herself, once again, in the crosshairs of Trump's hardline politics.

In February, a US-backed military strike against a powerful cartel leader in Mexico led to a retaliatory violence across the country and the death ofmore than 60 people.

This month, Trump signed aproclamationthat promises more military strikes across Latin America, operations she fears could bring moredestabilization, chaos and violence to the region.

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So when Rabb learned that Canada had recently revised its citizenship laws and widened the pool of eligibility, she took a shot and started looking up her ancestry online. She had nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

Her gamble paid off: at the age of 34, she belatedly learned that she has distant Canadian ancestry through her great-great-grandmother, who was born in Peterborough, Ontario.

"It was heaven-sent to discover that I have this Canadian ancestry, given the current political climate," Rabb tells CNN Travel.

Rabb, who has been mistaken for being Latina over her biracial features, said she wouldn't feel safe returning to the US.

"I don't plan to return to the US at the moment. It's just too dangerous," she says. "So many people are targeted, even if you just look Latino, or if you look like you might be an immigrant. They're even arresting US citizens, and allies. It's a very scary time right now because anyone can be targeted."

Should the situation in Latin America escalate, Canada will become her exit plan.

Seeking citizenship for history, culture and 'just in case'

Fultz points out that, like Rabb and Robillard, many American applicants aren't looking to make the move to Canada right away, but are requesting proof of citizenship "just in case."

Nor are all applications politically motivated. Some of the most common reasons for requesting citizenship include family reunification, job offers, international studies, and the more basic desire to reconnect with their ancestry.

"It could be the best president ever in office in the US and I would still apply with as much passion," says Timothy Beaulieu.

It wasn't until his early 20s when Beaulieu started spending more time with his US-born grandfather, that he began to hear about his family's French-Canadian heritage, which was passed on through his great-grandfather.

"It was like a new world was open," says Beaulieu, now 45, of New Hampshire.

He became active in Franco-American associations and traveled to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Montreal, where he discovered the local dish poutine — fries, cheese curds and gravy. It was there that a lightbulb went off and in 2016, he founded PoutineFest, which hosts outdoor poutine festivals around New England, home to an estimated two million French-Canadian descendants today.

The presence of Franco-Americans in the area can be traced back to 1840-1930, when nearly one million Francophone people emigrated from Quebec where farmlands were depleted and jobs scarce, to work in textile mills in New England.

"I feel like Quebec and Canada are part of our family, it's the motherland now," Beaulieu says. "It really means a lot to me to be able to feel more connected to the place where our family came from."

Rabb also expresses a keen interest in learning more about the history and culture of Canada's indigenous culture, and salutes Canada for trying to put right past wrongs.

Aaron Lowry, who created the fast-growing Facebook page"Canadian Citizenship by Descent," was one of the first Americans to get his citizenship through a short-lived interim bill that was introduced following the court ruling and was eventually replaced by Bill C-3.

Since becoming a Canadian citizen in 2024, the Ann Arbor, Michigan, resident has traveled around Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes and has taken deep dives into Canadian politics: he can rattle off dates and factoids about Canadian history with ease.

"I really enjoy learning about Canadian civics and how the parliamentary system works. I find the relationship between the British monarch and Canada very interesting."

'A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian'

Not everyone is happy with the relaxed citizenship rule: on online discussion forums, some Canadians complain it favors Americans with few ties or contributions to the country at the expense of tax-paying, working immigrant households who can face lengthy, complicated citizenship procedures.

Some also take umbrage at the fact that Americans are using Canada as a "Plan B" option at all.

But Fultz underscores that the bill was introduced because the previous legislation was deemed unconstitutional and discriminatory by Canadian courts. The amendment also restores status to "Lost Canadians," people who lost or never obtained their citizenship because of the outdated and unconstitutional rules.

"Basically, the outcome of this case is that a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian," she says. "We don't have multiple tiers of citizenship here, where if you're naturalized you can do X, but if you're born in Canada, you can't. This is about fostering and enhancing equitability."

She also emphasizes that the American applicants she's worked with include doctors, lawyers, and Harvard and MIT grads — "the best and the brightest."

"This is a good thing for Canada, and a good thing for Canadians. These are quite literally our cousins. I just don't see a downside."

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byNeo

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March 31, 2026

Millions of Americans are now eligible for Canadian citizenship and many are applying ‘just in case’

When Donald Trump was first elected in 2016, New York State resident Ellen Robillard briefly looked into getting Canadian...

Read More