The NCAA has issued an eight-year show-cause order to Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce for violations committed while serving as an assistant coach at Arizona State. The NCAA found that Pierce was the leader of a scheme at ASU to circumvent COVID-19 restrictions, including unauthorized recruiting contact with 35 prospects and tampering with a player enrolled at another school. The report also stated that Pierce provided false information and pressured staff members into engaging in violations. Despite the show-cause order, Pierce is currently employed by the Raiders as their full-time head coach.
The investigation into the violations at Arizona State also implicated Regina Jackson, a former booster for ASU and the mother of former Sun Devils quarterback Jayden Daniels. Jackson was said to have assisted with impermissible campus visits by recruits, among other violations. Pierce joined the ASU program in 2017 under head coach Herm Edwards and was eventually promoted to associated head coach/co-defensive coordinator in 2020. He resigned in 2022 after being hired as the Raiders linebackers coach. The NCAA disciplined ASU in April, imposing four years of probation, vacating games with ineligible players, reducing scholarships, imposing recruiting restrictions, and issuing an undisclosed fine.
If Pierce were to return to college football while his show-cause order is still in effect, he would be suspended for the first football season and prohibited from contacting anyone within the program during that time. The show-cause order is set to run until October 2, 2032. The NCAA report highlighted Pierce’s role as the ringleader in orchestrating the recruiting violations at ASU and emphasized that he used his position of authority to pressure staff members into committing violations. This led to the show-cause order being issued for an extended period of eight years.
Despite the NCAA findings and show-cause order, Pierce remains the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, as he was promoted to the full-time role after serving as interim head coach following the firing of Josh McDaniels last season. The report from the NCAA also mentioned that Pierce was unwilling to provide financial records and that one Sun Devils staffer stated that he did not fear the potential consequences of NCAA violations. Pierce’s involvement in the violations at ASU ultimately led to significant sanctions being imposed on the program, including probation, vacated games, scholarship reductions, recruiting restrictions, and a fine.
ASU’s former booster Regina Jackson was also implicated in the NCAA investigation for her role in assisting with impermissible campus visits by recruits. Jackson, the mother of former Sun Devils quarterback Jayden Daniels, was found to have violated NCAA rules along with Pierce and other individuals at ASU. The sanctions imposed on ASU in April by the NCAA included probation, vacated games with ineligible players, scholarship reductions, recruiting restrictions, and a monetary fine. Pierce’s show-cause order will prevent him from returning to college football until October 2032 if he were to seek a coaching position while the order is still in effect.
