Former URI Tennis Coach Pleads Not Guilty In Federal Court

BOSTON — The former University of Rhode Island women's tennis coach appeared in federal court in Massachusetts on Monday. Gordon Ernst was indicted along with eleven others as part of the massive college cheating scandal nicknamed "Operation Varsity Blues." Ernst resigned from his position at URI on Friday.

In his first court appearance since his indictment, Ernst pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering.

Ernst's charges stem from his time at Georgetown University, where he served as the women's tennis coach until January 2018. Court documents say that between 2012 and 2018, Ernst accepted more than $2.7 million in bribes, which he called "consulting fees," in exchange for falsely labeling at least 12 applicants as athletic recruits to ensure their acceptance into the university.

According to the indictment, Ernst sent emails to Georgetown admissions officers describing the tennis abilities of the false recruits.

"The email contained falsified information concerning Georgetown Applicant I's purported tennis abilities. In fact, Georgetown Applicant 1 did not play competitive tennis," the document reads, describing an applicant in August 2015.

The bribes were paid to Ernst by the scam's ringleader, William Singer, who created the Key Worldwide Foundation in 2012. Using the foundation, Singer accepted more than $25 million in bribes from parents looking to get their children into some of the country's best colleges and universities. Celebrities including Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman have been indicted under the scandal nicknamed "Operation Varsity Blues."

After he left Georgetown in January 2018, Ernst was hired by URI in August. Following his indictment, the university placed Ernst on administrative leave and released a statement saying he had not had any influence on recruitment.

"The University of Rhode Island today was made aware of an indictment of head women's tennis coach Gordon Ernst related to incidents that allegedly took place while he was head coach at Georgetown University," the statement read. "As a result, the University has placed Ernst on administrative leave while it continues to review the matter. Ernst was hired by URI in August 2018 as head coach. He has not been involved in the recruitment of any current players nor in the signing of any new recruits."

In another statement released several days later, university officials added that Ernst had passed a criminal background check during the hiring process.

On Saturday, URI officials said Ernst had announced his resignation on Friday afternoon. University officials did not respond to a request for comment.

READ MORE:

• Indicted University of Rhode Island Tennis Coach Resigns
• URI: Indicted Tennis Coach Passed Background Check
• URI Tennis Coach Named In College Cheating Scandal
• 'Operation Varsity Blues': College Cheating Scheme Names Dozens