LSU reinstates Wade after meeting over recruiting questions

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU athletic director Joe Alleva says the university is reinstating recently suspended basketball coach Will Wade

Alleva says that during a meeting Friday with LSU and NCAA officials, Wade “answered all questions and denied any wrongdoing in connection with recently reported allegations of irregularities in college basketball recruiting.”

Alleva says “Wade’s explanations and clarifications offered during the meeting, absent actual evidence of misconduct, satisfy his contractual obligation to LSU.”

LSU was having one of the better seasons in program history under the 36-year-old Wade when he was suspended indefinitely. His punishment came on the heels of a Yahoo report about leaked excerpts of an FBI wiretap that captured Wade speaking with a person convicted funneling illegal payments to the families of college basketball recruits.

It was not clear from the leaked transcripts whether Wade in fact violated NCAA rules or if Smart knew about the offer.