The UT-Austin coach, Michael Center, named in the college admissions scandal



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HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) – A growing scandal of college admissions fraud seems to have several important links directly with Texas.

On Tuesday, the men's tennis team from the University of Texas at Austin played its very first match without its head coach, Michael Center.

Center was one of many well-known people who would have been charged under this national scheme that allowed parents to exchange cash gifts for admission to university.

Prosecutors said that according to the records of the indictment, the Center had accepted 100,000 USD in 2015 for helping an alleged sports recruit to enter the UT.

Once the season is over, this student-athlete has voluntarily retired from the team.

Federal prosecutors in Boston have published nearly 300 pages of allegations in connection with an operation dubbed "Varsity Blues."

At least two Houstonians Martin Fox, president of a private tennis academy in Houston; and Niki Williams, assistant teacher at a Houston high school and test administrator for College Board and ACT.

The deputy director of sports at the University of Texas, John Bianco, issued the following statement about the allegations:

"The federal authorities informed us this morning that we were victims of an organized criminal act involving confessions." We have just seen the charges brought against our male tennis coach, Michael Center, and he will be put on trial. Administrative leave until new order, time to gather information.We fully cooperate with the investigation.Integration in admissions is vital to the academic and ethical standards of our university. "

Prosecutors say it's the biggest college-based admissions scam ever pursued in the United States. The defendants allegedly paid bribes of $ 200,000 to $ 6 million each to get their children into elite schools.

The center has since been put on administrative leave.

No students have been charged. In many cases, students were not aware of the fraud, authorities said.

WATCH: Recent arrests of suspects of cheating scandal in Houston

Associated Press contributed to this report.

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