NCAA investigation finds work-study violations in King University’s mens basketball program

Three years of probation and loss of scholarships are part of the punishment handed down Friday by the NCAA to the men’s basketball program at King University.

The report said that 14-year King coach and TSSAA Hall of Fame member George Pitts violated responsibility rules while school officials were cited for lack of oversight for a work-study program that allowed 28 players to receive more than $22,000 in pay that they did not earn.

The college oversight group also found that an associate head coach provided impermissible benefits like cost-free tutoring and correcting a take-home test for an athlete that was then submitted for credit.

Pitts, who retired from King and was then hired by Christian-based Providence Academy as athletic director, was also given a one-year show-cause order.

(PHOTO: Facebook / King Univ. Athletics)