SI investigation alleges Oklahoma State impropriety

Daniel Uthman | USA TODAY Sports

Sports Illustrated is preparing to publish a series of articles alleging improprieties in the Oklahoma State football program dating back more than a decade, the school said Saturday in a news release.

According to The Oklahoman, the series of reports, expected to be published within days, includes the following allegations:

Payments from coaches and boosters to players.

A bonus program run by former assistant coach Joe DeForest, now at West Virginia, for Cowboys players that existed as recently as 2011. Coaches and boosters paying athletes, including violations ranging from paying for jobs not performed, overpaying for jobs and strictly paying players for performance.

Academic corruption involving grade changes and players' work being completed by others.

Drug abuse among players and sexual relations with hostesses in the school's Orange Pride program.

Oklahoma State president Burns Hargis said in a news release, "Oklahoma State University is deeply troubled by these claims. We will investigate the accuracy of the allegations and take all appropriate action. We do not condone or tolerate improper conduct in our athletic programs. OSU requires everyone affiliated with the university to follow the rules and adhere to the highest ethical standards."

West Virginia athletics director Oliver Luck told the Charleston Gazette on Saturday afternoon that West Virginia has launched an investigation into the allegations related to DeForest. The Mountaineers football team is in Norman, Okla., today facing the University of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma State said the majority of the alleged incidents occurred between 2001 and 2007. Oklahoma State said that once the stories are published, it will hire an independent investigator to examine the claims. The school said it also has alerted the NCAA.

LSU coach Les Miles, who coached the Cowboys from 2001-04, said Saturday night after his team defeated UAB, "I don't know of any improprieties while I was coaching there. We always did things right."

After three consecutive bowl appearances, Miles left Oklahoma State after the 2004 season to become LSU's coach. "Oklahoma State has never been a place where you needed to cheat to have success," Miles said.

Mike Holder, Oklahoma State's Vice President of Athletics said in the school release, "We are shocked by the allegations raised about our football program. We take the allegations seriously. Whether they have merit or not, we don't know. But we will find out.

"Our athletic department understands the high expectations OSU President Burns Hargis and the OSU Board of Regents have set for us. Our coaches and staff understand we will not tolerate any violations that compromise our pursuit of excellence, the highest of ethical standards, and full compliance with NCAA rules and regulations."

Oklahoma State said that the magazine told school officials of the upcoming series on Aug. 28, and that it had been working on the reporting for nearly a year. The school said senior writer George Dohrmann and executive editor B.J. Schecter visited the school this past week to discuss their reporting and that reporter Thayer Evans also had contributed.

Contributing: Glenn Guilbeau, Gannett Louisiana.

Daniel Uthman, USA TODAY Sports' senior editor, colleges, is on Twitter @DanUthman.