Texas running backs coach Larry Porter has been linked to an Oklahoma State scandal in which he allegedly paid players, according to a Sports Illustrated (SI) investigative report.

Oklahoma State is under fire for recent allegations from SI about the school paying players based on performance and compensating them for fake jobs. As many as 20 players were awarded money between 2001 and 2011, according to the article.

Porter is one of many assistant coaches accused of making “straight payments to players” during his stint as a running back coach with Oklahoma State from 2002 to 2004.

The running backs coach is cited twice in the article — once by running back Seymour Shaw and once by safety Fath’ Carter, who both claim Porter gave them money periodically.

Shaw said that Porter gave him $100 “four or five times” and was told to “use the money to get something to eat.” Carter said the coach handed him “a couple of hundred bucks” before fall camp in 2003 to host a pair of incoming freshman at his apartment. NCAA rules prohibit compensation for
both accusations.

“I’ve been made aware of the accusations,” Porter said in an SI statement. “I’m disappointed because they are all absolutely not true. None of that ever happened.” 

Porter is in his first season at Texas. Prior to arriving on the 40 Acres he coached at Arizona State.

Texas men’s athletic director DeLoss Dodds was informed of the allegations last Wednesday and approached Porter to discuss the claims.

“After questioning him on Thursday concerning those allegations, we do not have any issues with him at this time,” Dodds said in a statement.

The SI report came out Tuesday morning and is the first piece in a five-part investigative series in which the sports magazine outlines the 10-month investigation it conducted at Oklahoma State. This part of the series charted the money scandal in Stillwater. The rest of the report includes an in-depth look at academic misconduct, drug use, inappropriate recruiting tactics and the fallout from these misbehaviors.