Fallout from FBI's NCAA basketball corruption investigation could linger for a while

As the smoke clears from the federal trial tied to the FBI's investigation into corruption in college basketball, a key question for the sport and its millions of fans has emerged: Will the NCAA be able to act on the evidence revealed in the case?

The answer is heading toward "Yes." The federal government reportedly gave the NCAA approval to investigate schools mentioned as possibly committing recruiting, fraud and bribery violations, according to a Yahoo report on Tuesday. Universities named or identified in the investigation include Kansas, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina State, Auburn, South Carolina, Oklahoma State, Arizona, Oregon and Southern Cal. Ten people, including four assistant coaches at power programs, have been arrested.

New NCAA rules passed in August also strengthened the ability for enforcement by giving the NCAA a chance to act on the FBI's findings, an important step in cleaning up college hoops, University of Minnesota President and NCAA Division I board chair Eric Kaler said in the fall.

"You're dealing with the relatively small population of programs that aren't doing something right," Kaler told the Star Tribune. He said for "our most complex cases," the board can take "a deeper dive and [conduct] a better quality investigation."

How much will all of this rock the college basketball season, culminating at the 2019 Final Four in Minneapolis? To be determined, but plan on seeing at least some waves from the New York trial rippling across the country.

MARCUS FULLER