GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — The Atlantic Coast Conference has fined Louisville and Virginia Tech $25,000 each after reviewing the findings of a Wake Forest investigation that concluded a former Demon Deacons assistant coach-turned-broadcaster leaked game plans to opponents.
Commissioner John Swofford said in a statement Saturday that he is “deeply disturbed something like this would occur.”
The league said its review and follow-up discussions with the schools indicated that game plan information for four of Wake Forest’s games was provided to three schools over a three-year period from 2014-16 — Virginia Tech in 2014, Louisville in 2016 and Army in both 2014 and ’16.
Wake Forest beat both the Hokies (6-3 in double overtime) and Army (24-21) in 2014. Army beat the Demon Deacons 21-13 on Oct. 29 — two weeks before a trip to Louisville in which they lost 44-12 and began to suspect a security breach.
The announcement came four days after former Wake Forest assistant and radio analyst Tommy Elrod was fired after the school determined he shared or attempted to share inside information.
“Sportsmanship and ethical values are at the core of competitive integrity,” Swofford said, “and in these instances, those were missing.”
The ACC says the amounts of the fines are the highest allowed by the league’s bylaws. The announcement came a day after Louisville said co-offensive coordinator Lonnie Galloway was suspended for the Citrus Bowl following its internal review, and the ACC said in its statement that it “is fully supportive” of that suspension.
An Army spokesman also said Saturday that it will investigate its role in the scandal, with Superintendent Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen ordering athletic director Boo Corrigan to open an investigation that will be conducted by a U.S. Army officer.
Elrod has not returned phone calls or text messages, and his lawyer — former Wake Forest player James Quander — has declined to comment ever since the school released its findings.
Wake Forest began its review after documents related to its game plan for the Louisville game on Nov. 12 were discovered at the Cardinals’ stadium.
Coach Dave Clawson revealed four days later that school officials were investigating a possible security breach and Wake Forest announced its findings Tuesday night — absolving the current staff and players and pinning the blame solely on Elrod, a former player in the 1990s and assistant under Jim Grobe who went into broadcasting when he was not retained during the coaching change to Clawson following the 2013 season.
Academy spokesman Matt Faulkner confirmed Army’s involvement Wednesday night but did not have any additional details.
A day later, Virginia Tech athletic director Whit Babcock said a former unidentified Hokies assistant was provided with “some game plan information” before their game in 2014 but that retired coach Frank Beamer had no knowledge of it and the assistant was not retained when Justin Fuente replaced him after last season.
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