The Ole Miss men’s basketball program has been punished by the NCAA for Level I and II tampering violations committed by a former assistant coach.
On Friday, the NCAA issued a release stating that ex-assistant Wes Flanigan, who left Auburn to join Chris Beard’s staff in 2023 before hopping to Georgia Tech as an assistant in the spring, had “impermissible recruiting conversations with the advisor of a student-athlete from another school who had not entered the transfer portal.” The NCAA did not identify the player or the adviser.
The NCAA’s Division I Committee on Infractions panel reports that Ole Miss, Beard, and Flanigan reached an agreement with league enforcement staff over the misconduct. Flanigan is said to have spoken on the phone with the unidentified advisor 16 times and sent 10 texts while the player being pursued was not in the transfer portal. This occurred in the offseason leading up to the Rebels’ 2024-25 campaign, which ended in a Sweet 16 loss to Michigan State.
NCAA rules strictly prohibit any direct or indirect communication — including through third parties or representatives — with a player currently enrolled at another school before that player has officially entered the portal.
Making matters more unique, after Flanigan spoke with the advisor, the player ultimately hit the portal, but did not take a visit to Ole Miss. The player also signed with another program during the transfer window. Flanigan was given a one-year show-cause order, including a suspension and a recruiting communication suspension. He was also given a two-game coaching suspension. The former Ole Miss assistant served all of those punishments during the 2024-25 season.
Beard was found to be responsible for the violations. As head coach, the NCAA found him to be responsible for oversight of the men’s basketball program. However, Beard was not penalized since the NCAA determined that he was not directly involved in the infractions.
“The parties also agreed that Beard was automatically responsible for the violations due to head coach responsibility legislation,” the NCAA wrote. “However, the parties noted that he was not personally involved in the violations, was not aware of the impermissible contact, and promoted an atmosphere for compliance. Thus, the parties agreed that he should not receive any penalties”
Institutionally, Ole Miss was given two years of probation, a $455,000 fine, a one-week ban on all recruiting communications for the men’s basketball program (served last season), and a one-week prohibition on unofficial and official visits for the men’s basketball program (served during the 2024-25 season).
Separate from Flanigan’s offenses, Ole Miss was discovered to have not disassociated with an unidentified booster the school had been ordered to cut ties with for three years in a 2017 infractions case linked to a multi-year investigation into the Ole Miss football program led by former head coach Hugh Freeze and former athletics director Ross Bjork.
The NCAA prohibited Ole Miss from accepting financial assistance from the booster or his businesses. Instead of disassociating from the booster, Ole Miss is reported to have taken more than $109,240 from him via 18 separate contributions to the school’s athletics foundation. The booster, in turn, is also said to have enjoyed premium seating at Ole Miss sports functions.
“The enforcement staff and the school did not conclude that any individual athletics department staff member knowingly violated the requirements of the disassociation penalty,” the NCAA wrote. “However, the parties agreed that the school did not monitor its athletics department as a result of the violations.”
Ole Miss has been ordered to disassociate from the booster for two years. In addition, Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter and a senior member of the athletics foundation had to attend the 2026 NCAA Regional Rules Seminar.
“The university advocated for many years to achieve this resolution with the NCAA that will have no ongoing or future impact on our basketball program, as all basketball-related penalties have been served,” an official statement from Ole Miss on the matter reads. “There is no impact on our football program or any other athletics program. We are pleased to bring these cases to a close.”
