Steve Alford says UCLA has not heard from FBI regarding NCAA scandal

UCLA coach Steve Alford speaks to the media in 2016. (David Crane/Staff)

UCLA men’s basketball coach Steve Alford said Saturday no one within the program has been contacted by FBI officials regarding the ongoing corruption investigation that has rocked college basketball.

Four Division I assistant coaches, including one at USC and one at Arizona, were among 10 individuals charged last month in U.S. District Court in New York as a result of the three-year federal investigation. Representatives from Adidas, UCLA’s former apparel provider, were among those charged for allegedly paying families of high-profile recruits to play for Adidas-affiliated schools.

Alford, speaking at UCLA and Under Armour’s joint showcase at Venice Beach, said the first thing he did when news of the investigation broke was meet with his staff and thank them.

“I thanked them because I sleep well at night,” Alford said. “They know exactly how I want things ran. It doesn’t always work out that way. That doesn’t mean everybody’s perfect, everybody’s going to do the right thing all the time, but the three guys that are on the road for me, I hired them for a reason, of who they are and how they go about things and they know how I want things done and they do that for me and I very much appreciate it and that’s why I sleep well at night.”

UCLA Athletics officially ended its long-time partnership with Adidas this year as its 15-year, $280-million deal with Under Armour kicked in July 1. The men’s and women’s basketball teams debuted their new blue away jerseys during Saturday’s event that featured a skills competition, a 3-point contest and a dunk contest on a custom hardwood court built on the beach boardwalk.