Yow submits letter to judge in federal case involving payments to Dennis Smith, Jr

By Jeff Gravley

On February 22, NC State Director of Athletics Debbie Yow sent a "victim impact statement" to Judge Lewis Kaplan in connection in the sentencing of Adidas representatives James Gatto, Merl Code and Christian Dawkins.

A federal investigation revealed a payment of $40,000 that was given to an NC State assistant basketball coach to give to a trainer for recruit Dennis Smith, Jr.

In her letter to Judge Kaplan, Debbie Yow said, "This trial and the attendant publicity has unquestionably damaged the reputation of our University." She pointed out the University incurred costs and attorneys' fees that "currently total $234,485, with future fees anticipated to be at least $500,000."

Separate documents filed to US District Court in New York, showed that in addition to the attorneys' fees, "North Carolina State University seeks the value of the one-year of tuition covered for Smith Jr., or $23,900."

When Yow was hired in 2010 she explained in the letter that "the first area I targeted for improvements was our Compliance unit." In federal court in October, NC State compliance director Carrie Doyle denied any knowledge of the transaction and knew no one with ties to the University who had knowledge of it.

Yow continued in the letter to Judge Kaplan by saying despite those commitments and the strengthening of the Compliance department, "there is no detection technique to identify an individual who intentionally chooses to violate an NCAA run and then hides the misconduct from both the University and the NCAA."

She concluded with a commitment to continue cooperating with the SDNY and the NCAA. "If the Court has any questions," she said. "I remain at your disposal to respond to any and all inquiries."

The University of Kansas and the University of Louisville also provided Judge Kaplan with "victim impact statements."