Sean Miller Arizona scandal, explained: Revisiting FBI investigation that led to NCAA sanctions, coach’s 2021 firing

Sean Miller Arizona scandal, explained: Revisiting FBI investigation that led to NCAA sanctions, coach’s 2021 firing originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

For over two decades, Sean Miller has been a head coach at a prominent men’s college basketball program.

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Miller had two separate stints at Xavier, plus an NCAA Tournament run in his first year at Texas in 2025-26 — but what he may be most well-known for is his 12-year run with the Arizona Wildcats.

At Arizona, Miller guided his teams to three Elite Eights and another two Sweet 16s. But his time in Tucson also ended in some controversy — Miller was let go by the team in 2021 following a significant NCAA investigation into the Wildcats’ program.

Here’s everything to know about the scandal that led to Miller’s exit from Arizona.

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Sean Miller-Arizona scandal timeline

Arizona was at the center of a 2017 federal investigation into corruption in college basketball. The repercussions of that investigation had effects on Miller and the program, and eventually, it led to the coach’s 2021 departure.

Sean Miller-FBI investigation (2017)

In September 2017, the FBI announced the arrest of 10 individuals involved with either college basketball programs, or Adidas, for varying corruption and fraud charges, including bribery, money laundering and wire fraud. Schools impacted by those arrests included Louisville, Miami, Auburn, Oklahoma State, South Carolina and USC.

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Also among the arrests was Arizona assistant coach Emmanuel “Book” Richardson. He was alleged to have met with an agent, Christian Dawkins, and others earlier in the year, agreeing to accept a $5,000 bribe to direct Arizona players to Dawkins’ sports management company. Richardson was also charged with accepting $15,000 in bribes and paying at least one recruit to commit to the Wildcats. He was…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/sean-miller-arizona-scandal-explained-074001537.html

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Publish date : 2026-03-25 07:40:00

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