ASU Gets Admissions Scandal Mention, But Not For Reason You Think

PHOENIX, AZ — For the record, Arizona State University wasn’t implicated in “Operation Varsity Blues,” the sweeping college admissions federal bribery case accusing wealthy parents of buying their kids’ way into some of the country’s most prestigious universities. But the university is mentioned in documents supporting the case, described as the “largest ever” college recruitment scam ever prosecuted.

ASU gets a mention as a school that actress Lori Loughlin, best known for her role as Aunt Becky on “Full House,” and fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli don’t want their daughter to attend. The celebrity couple have both been charged in the case. Federal prosecutors say they paid $500,000 to get their daughters designated as recruits for the University of Southern California’s crew team, though neither ever participated.

Prosecutors say that in an email to a witness cooperating with prosecutors, Giannulli wrote: “We just met with [our older daughter's] college counselor this am. I’d like to maybe sit with you after your session with the girls as I have some concerns and want to fully understand the game plan and make sure we have a roadmap for success as it relates to [our daughter] and getting her into a school other than ASU!”

Tempe-based ASU, which has a campus in Phoenix, barely acknowledged the slight. In a statement, ASU said it had “no comment on a glib, uninformed remark,” the Arizona Republic reported.

But the university did say that issues addressed in the “Operation Varsity Blues” case as it relates to the fairness of admissions standards deserves attention.

In all, 50 people have been indicted, including 33 parents, nine coaches, two SAT and ACT administrators, one proctor and one college administrator have been charged by the Justice Department. Prosecutors said parents paid millions of dollars in bribes to get their children into elite schools with rigid admissions standards, including Yale University, Stanford University, the University of Texas, the University of Southern California and the University of California-Los Angeles.

Prosecutors said that in some cases, parents arranged to make it possible for their children to cheat on SAT and ACT college admission tests, and in others, they paid off college coaches to accept them for admission as student athletes, even if they had no athletic skills.

“Some universities have decided the most important thing they can do is turn away deserving, qualified applicants just so they can seem more exclusive. That leads to perverse incentives and perverse actions, as we are witnessing unfold right now,” ASU said in the statement.

Limiting access to college for students who earn admission on their merits is a “recipe for disaster in our country,” ASU said.

The university added a postscript: “And a note to potential Sun Devils: You can apply any time — no shenanigans needed.”

ASU’s acceptance rate is over 80 percent.