"They were treating me like I was some criminal": Keith Urgo makes his feelings known on NCAA's "aggressive" approach to Fordham investigation 

Keith Urgo was fired by Fordham last month after working as a coach for three seasons. However, his time with the Rams had been marred by controversy

On Tuesday, after a year-long investigation, the NCAA said that it found Urgo had “violated ethical conduct rules” and “head coach responsibility rules” related to a photo shoot in Times Square for prospective recruits.

Despite being guilty of violating the NCAA rules, Urgo felt some relief that the investigation had finally come to a close.

“They were treating me like I was some criminal, literally like I had broken some laws,” Urgo said to the NY Post in a phone interview. “They were just trying to do whatever they could to pin a Level 1 violation on us and none of it made any sense. We were just all confused, including all the lawyers in the situation, confused as to why they were just being so aggressive and trying to do whatever they could to bury us.

“I think in this last year, specifically, it was probably the most taxing,” he said. “This past season was definitely very difficult, because it just seemed like two or three times a week for several months, we were dealing with [the investigation].

The NCAA's investigation revealed that Fordham reportedly spent $10,736 on entertainment expenses during eight player visits over two years, ranging from June 2021 and April 2023.

The Fordham coaches reportedly arranged outings to see the New York Giants, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and even U.S. Open events, which exceeded the $75 daily limit by the NCAA.

Urgo also allegedly paid professional photographers to capture recruits posing in Times Square on 24 occasions. This is another violation of the NCAA’s rules against pre-signing publicity.

NCAA vacates Fordham's 41 wins under Keith Urgo as part of sanctions

NCAA Basketball: Former Fordham HC Keith Urgo - Source: Imagn

The NCAA has announced that Fordham's 41 wins under Keith Urgo will be vacated for recruiting violations. This includes the 2022-23 season, in which the Rams posted a 25–8 record, which was the program record for most wins in a season.

The Rams will also be barred from the July 2025 recruiting window and must pay a $35,000 fine plus 2% of their budget.

In the 2024-25 season, Fordham finished with a 12-21 record, which led to the team parting ways with Urgo. During his three years with the Rams, Urgo posted a 50-49 record.