Auburn's appeal on Austin Wiley denied by Division I Committee

AUBURN — Austin Wiley will not play for Auburn in the 2017-18 season.

According to multiple sources inside the athletic department, Auburn University had its appeal of the NCAA ruling on the sophomore center denied in a hearing with the Division I Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement.

The appeal was a teleconference on Jan. 23, two weeks after the initial NCAA ruling on Wiley that made the sophomore center ineligible for the 2017-18 season, where the Auburn University compliance department, counsel and athletic officials were joined by the committee members.

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl declined to comment this past Thursday on the results of the appeal except to say “I do believe there’s been some resolution to that."

The NCAA ruled Jan. 11 that Wiley would not be eligible until the 2018-19 season after Auburn self-reported violations involving recruiting, extra benefits and agent-related activity.

More: Bruce Pearl ‘very disappointed’ at NCAA’s ruling on Austin Wiley

More: NCAA rules Austin Wiley ineligible for 2017-18 season; Auburn applied for reinstatement for Wiley but not Purifoy

According to the NCAA ruling, Auburn self-reported amateurism violations that involved recruiting issues, extra benefits to the student-athlete and agent-related activity.

The Montgomery Advertiser submitted a public records request for the documentation Auburn submitted to the NCAA, but that request has yet to be filled.

Wiley and third-year sophomore Danjel Purifoy have both been held out of every game following the arrest and indictment of former Auburn assistant coach Chuck Person in September. Neither player had been cleared for competition by the NCAA, but both have remained on scholarship and eligible to practice.

Pearl has confirmed both Wiley and Purifoy were enrolled in spring semester classes and expected to remain on scholarship. Both players were on the bench in street clothes during Auburn’s 93-81 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday night.

According to the federal indictment, Person received $91.500 and says on camera to uncover agents bribes that he paid bribes of $11,000 and $7,500 to family members of Wiley and Purifoy to steer them toward financial advisers. Person also allowed for meetings to take place between the mothers of the players and the people Person was working with in the alleged scheme.

At the time of the initial NCAA ruling, a media release stated Wiley’s reinstatement request is the only one the NCAA has received from Auburn. That suggests Auburn had yet to submit the request for Purifoy and sources have confirmed that athletic department officials have concluded neither player will play this season.

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Auburn (21-2, 9-1 SEC) leads the Southeastern Conference by two games with eight to play and is clearly one of the nation’s surprise teams this season. The Tigers have won 18 of their last 19 games and are on pace to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003.

More: Chuck Person terminated by Auburn on Oct. 18, weeks before indictment

Despite the team's success on the playing floor, Auburn President Steven Leath made it clear in Allen Greene’s introductory media conference that a decision on Pearl’s future status will be primarily made by the program’s new athletic director. Greene officially assumed the role at Auburn on Feb. 1. Pearl has yet to speak directly with Leath, Greene or Auburn University counsel about the timeline of events that led to the arrest and indictment of Person, the paid leave of two basketball staff members and the ineligible status of Wiley and Purifoy.

“Clearly, Bruce knows that my expectation is that sooner or later he’s going to have to come in and talk to me and others on campus about what’s going on in the program,” Leath said on Jan. 19.