University of Minnesota basketball scandal

The University of Minnesota basketball scandal involved National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules violations, most notably academic dishonesty, committed by the University of Minnesota men's basketball program. The story broke the day before the 1999 NCAA Tournament, when the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported that Minnesota academic counseling office manager Jan Gangelhoff had done coursework for at least 20 Minnesota basketball players since 1993.

In the resulting scandal, four players from the Minnesota basketball team were immediately suspended, pending an investigation for academic fraud. Head coach Clem Haskins, men's athletic director Mark Dienhart, and university vice president McKinley Boston all resigned. Minnesota voluntarily sat out the 1999–00 postseason, among other self-imposed sanctions. In 2000, the NCAA placed the Minnesota men's basketball program on four years' probation and reduced scholarships, based on numerous findings of academic fraud, improper benefits, and other ethics violations.

On March 10, 1999, the day before Minnesota was to play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported, in an article by George Dohrmann, that Jan Gangelhoff, an office manager of the university academic counseling unit, alleged that she had completed hundreds of pieces of coursework for more than 20 Minnesota men's basketball players. According to Dohrmann, former players including Courtney James and Bobby Jackson corroborated Gangelhoff's claims. Gangelhoff provided him with printed samples of coursework written by her and turned in by students. Among other allegations by Gangelhoff: she was allowed to continue assisting players despite being caught in 1996 doing a take-home exam with a player, an assistant coach drove players to Gangelhoff's home for tutoring sessions in possible violation of NCAA rules, Gangelhoff duplicated the same work for different student-athletes to turn in to different classes, and coach Clem Haskins paid Gangelhoff in cash to tutor players.

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