 Gundy would later state that the incident was a blessing in disguise, as the image of his strident defense of one of his players had a lasting positive effect on recruiting.In September 2013, "Sports Illustrated" published a series of articles as part of an investigation beginning with Les Miles' tenure as head coach at Oklahoma State from 2001 and continuing through Gundy's tenure as head coach in 2011.The allegations concerning Gundy included involvement in a bonus system for players along with direct payments and no-show or sham jobs involving boosters, continuing diminished academic standards including players playing who were otherwise academically ineligible such as having players' school work done by so-called tutors and other school personnel, tolerating widespread drug abuse among the players by continuing a sham drug counseling program and selective drug enforcement, and also purportedly like Miles, personally interviewing hostess candidates for the Orange Pride hostess program and facilitating some hostesses having sex with prospective recruits.