Lets take the Auburn case 1st. Pearl has not cooperated with Auburn, the NCAA, or the FBI. All indications are Persons will be the scapegoat legally, but the NCAA issue is another matter. Anyone who thinks Persons was doing this without the head coaches knowledge is being naive or just doesn't want to know the truth. Regardless of whether he knew or not, the NCAA has stated that HEAD coaches are responsible for their assistants actions. Pearls history with the NCAA would seem to be bad news for him. But so far the reality is much different for Bruce "I take the 5th" Pearl, he has managed to not only keep his job, but get a big raise as well. Does the NCAA slap another Pearl with another show cause order?
The LSU case seems much more straight forward as supposedly there are tapes with Wade making strong offers to recruits. It is hard to argue with a tape, but can the FBI or NCAA find the money? The money trail may well be the determining factor in Wade keeping his job and not facing a show cause order.
It will be interesting to see what if any actions come as the result of all this. The NCAA has a history of backing down when it a school shows up with lawyers. As the old philosopher said "We shall see".