Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce was slapped with an eight-year show-cause order due to violations that occurred when he was an assistant coach at Arizona State , the NCAA announced Thursday.
Most of the violations were related to what the NCAA referred to as a “scheme” orchestrated by Pierce to circumvent restrictions in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pierce facilitated impermissible recruiting contact with 35 prospects, including “tryouts, football facility tours and entertainment.” It was also determined he directed an assistant to engage in tampering with a player enrolled at another school and traveled out of state to observe and meet with prospects during a recruiting dead period.
“In arriving at an eight-year show-cause order for Pierce, the panel emphasized his role as the ringleader in orchestrating the recruiting violations,” according to the report from the NCAA.
In the event Pierce is hired by a NCAA school during the show-cause order — which runs until Oct. 2, 2032 — he would be suspended for the first football season and would be allowed no contact with any of the program’s coaches or players during that period.