NCAA slaps Raiders’ Antonio Pierce with 8-year show-cause order after violations as coach at Arizona State

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce was hit with an eight-year show-cause order by the NCAA due to violations while serving as an assistant coach for Arizona State. 

In a 67-page report, the governing body says Pierce was the leader of a “scheme” at ASU to “circumvent restrictions in place during the COVID-19 pandemic,” per ESPN. 

That “scheme” included recruiting contact with 35 prospects, which the NCAA said was “tryouts, football facility tours and entertainment.”

Pierce was also found to have directed an assistant to engage in tampering with a player enrolled at another school. 

“In arriving at an eight-year show-cause order for Pierce, the panel emphasized his role as the ringleader in orchestrating the recruiting violations,” the report from the NCAA read, via ESPN. 

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The NCAA also found that Pierce provided them with “false or misleading information,” while being unwilling to show financial records. The investigation also had one Sun Devils staffer say Pierce “did not fear the potential consequences for NCAA violations.”

“Pierce used his position of authority to pressure staff members into engaging in violations, often by instilling fear that they would lose their jobs if they did not follow his orders,” the report added.

Pierce is currently employed by the Raiders, who made him their full-time head coach after serving in an interim role after the firing of Josh McDaniels last season. But, if Pierce were to head back to college football, his show-cause order runs until Oct. 2, 2032. 

So, if hired while the order is still in effect, he would be suspended for the first football season and would not be allowed to contact anyone within the program during that span. 

The report also mentions Regina Jackson, a former booster for ASU and the mother of Jayden Daniels, the ex-Sun Devils quarterback who now plays for the Washington Commanders in the NFL. It is said she assisted with the impermissible campus visits by recruits, among other violations. 

Pierce joined the ASU program under former head coach Herm Edwards in 2017, and he was eventually promoted to associated head coach/co-defensive coordinator in 2020. Pierce would resign in 2022 after being hired as Raiders linebackers coach. 

ASU was disciplined by the NCAA in April, being slapped with four years of probation, vacated games where ineligible players were on the field, reduced scholarships, recruiting restrictions and an undisclosed fine. 

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