Former UT tennis coach released to Texas halfway house after college admissions scandal

Former University of Texas men's tennis coach Michael Center is in a Texas halfway house and set to be released in October after serving six months in federal prison for falsely designating a wealthy West Coast student as a Longhorns recruit.

He was among dozens of bribery deals cut between officials at prestigious universities around the country and the rich and famous who wanted their children to attend them—all revealed in a stunning nationwide college admissions scandal in 2019 that netted coaches and movie stars alike.

Center, 56, began his sentence in April in a South Texas prison facility, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. He is set to be released on Oct. 4 but may be eligible for monitored confinement in his Austin-area home up to 18 days before that, according to the bureau.

The bureau website shows that Center is now in the custody of the Residential Reentry Management center in San Antonio, which oversees several facilities in Texas. It was unclear from online information where in Texas his current facility is located and whether he would be going home early. Calls to the bureau by Austonia were not returned.

RRMs offer employment counseling, job placement services, financial management assistance, other services and some freedoms, according to the bureau.

It is not clear when Center left the Federal Corrections Facility Three Rivers, a medium-to minimum-security men's facility, where he served a portion of his sentence.

Multiple attempts by Austonia to reach Center through family members were unsuccessful.

The nationwide college admissions scandal involved more than 50 people, including actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, along with coaches from universities such as Yale, Georgetown, several California schools and UT-El Paso.

Center admitted to accepting $100,000 in 2015 in exchange for helping the son of a Silicon Valley venture capitalist gain admission to UT-Austin as a recruit for the Texas Longhorns tennis team, which he was not.

He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and was ordered to serve a year's probation and pay back $60,000 he had pocketed in the deal. The other $40,000 went to the tennis team.

In February, Center was visibly upset at the sentencing, which his attorney called "harsh," and which started right as the nation was in the early stages of the pandemic shutdowns.

By comparison, a Stanford sailing coach was sentenced to one day in prison and six months house arrest, along with probation and a fine.

Huffman was released after two weeks and Loughlin, who told reporters she was "terrified" of going to prison during the pandemic, will start a two-month prison sentence in November. Both were also fined and given community service hours for their role in schemes to bribe college officials to get their kids into certain schools.

Center was a celebrated and popular coach who spent 18 seasons at UT-Austin and was awarded the 2007 U.S. Professional Tennis Association's National College Coach of the Year. Each season under his leadership, Longhorns made appearances in the NCAA Championship, including three trips to the Final Four. Then in 2019, his team won the national championship.

The Longhorns achieved their highest final national ranking (No. 3) in 2006 under Center.