Oregon Ducks head basketball coach Dana Altman has denied allegations about his program paying players.
During the federal trial looking into corruption in the college basketball world, Oregon was mentioned as a program that was in a bidding war for Brian Bowen, who ended up signing with Louisville.
“Oregon, a Nike school, offered [Bowen] an astronomical amount of money if he’d go to Oregon,” an attorney said in the case.
Oregon’s supposed involvement in the bidding for Bowen was allegedly what drove up the price on Bowen, who ended up agreeing to receive $100,000 from the Cardinals.
Altman denied the allegations.
“The claims that have been focused at our program are all false,” Altman said Friday, via The Oregonian. “We do not pay players. We never have. We never will.”
Altman is entering his ninth season as the Ducks’ head coach. He has helped the program become one of the best teams in the Pac-12 and country, with a Final Four and Elite Eight appearance in 2016 and 2017.
