AXED

University of Texas Tennis Coach Fired Over College Admissions Cheating Scandal

After he was charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.

University of Texas at Austin dismissed their head tennis coach, Michael Center, after he was charged in a nation-wide college admissions cheating scandal. In a statement, Vice President and Athletics Director Chris Del Conte said that it was a “difficult decision” but that it “had to be made” after reviewing Center’s situation with other campus leaders. In a letter announcing Center’s firing, President Gregory Fenves said he’s asked school officials to conduct a review into the alleged 2015 fraud. “The integrity of UT admissions is essential to our mission as a research university and to the students and families we serve,” Fenves wrote. “That is why any act of wrongdoing, no matter how singular, matters so deeply.” According to the San Antonio News-Express, Center was accused of “accepting lucrative bribes” in a larger conspiracy that “facilitated cheating on college entrance exams and the admission of students to elite universities as purported athletic recruits.” Wealthy parents—including celebrities and executives—paid to have their children disguised as athletic recruits upon admission so they could get accepted into selective universities, authorities said.