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Report: Evidence from federal probe “threatens the fundamental structure and integrity” of college basketball

NCAA Coaches Indicted On Federal Bribery And Corruption Charges

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 26: Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Attorneyâs Office, Southern District of New York, on September 26, 2017 in New York, New York. announce charges of fraud and corruption in college basketball. The acting U.S. Attorney announced Federal criminal charges against ten people, including four college basketball coaches, as well as managers, financial advisors, and representatives of a major international sportswear company. (Photo by Kevin Hagen/Getty Images)

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When federal authorities announced the arrests of 10 people as a result of an investigation into corruption college basketball this past fall, the immediate question - or concern - immediately pivoted to a crucial query on how the probe would sprawl.

How bad could this get for the sport?

Evidence from the inquiry “threatens the fundamental structure and integrity” of college basketball that could touch Hall of Fame coaches, top prospects and dozens of programs, according to a report from Yahoo Sports, which cited multiple anonymous sources familiar with the case.

The federal government currently has “a voluminous amount of material” that consists of thousands of wiretapped phone calls, thousands of of documents and records “obtained from raids and confiscated computers, including those from notorious NBA agent Andy Miller,” according to Yahoo.

“When this all comes out, Hall of Fame coaches should be scared, lottery picks won’t be eligible to play and almost half of the 16 teams the NCAA showed on its initial NCAA tournament show this weekend should worry about their appearance being vacated,” Yahoo quoted an anonymous source who had been briefed on the case’s details as saying.

The report is essentially a doomsday scenario for the status quo of college basketball that could touch every aspect of the game - from its front-facing personalities to players to sneaker companies to the underbelly of the sport and everything in between. It’s hard to understate the potential impact of this information should everything Yahoo reports the government be made public for the world to see.

This probe always threatened the core tenants of college basketball, but if the government holds the evidence that Yahoo reports it does, things may be as bad for those people who make up the system as could have ever been imagined.

Should this information see the light of day, and it remains to be seen if and how they will happen, the question will turn from, ‘How bad will this be?’ to an even more fundamental question.

Can the sport, as currently constituted, survive?