Wayne Morgan called a press conference Tuesday for one reason and one reason only – to let everyone know he was innocent.

Flanked on both sides by current and former players, Morgan met with the media for the first time since he was fired as Iowa State’s head men’s basketball coach Friday.

His goal of the press conference was simple – to clear a name suddenly tarnished by a cash-for-recruits scandal.

“I want to be very clear on this issue, because it touches upon 30 years of character and integrity that I have worked hard to establish as a Division I basketball coach,” Morgan said.

The scandal revolves around D1 Scheduling, a company founded by Los Angeles City College coach Mike Miller.

Larger schools such as Iowa State paid Miller to schedule non-conference opponents for them. Miller reportedly kept a majority of the money, taking the cash as a kickback for players from LACC he would funnel to these schools.

Morgan’s involvement circles around Anthony Davis, a senior forward on this season’s Cyclone team. Davis played for Miller at LACC for one season before joining Morgan at Iowa State for the 2004-05 season.

Morgan denied any wrongdoing in the situation, citing a relationship with Davis that goes back several years.

“I have known Anthony Davis since 1999 and we enjoy a strong and special bond,” Morgan said. “Anthony, since high school, has indicated that if he could play for me at an appropriate university, he would. His attendance at Iowa State has nothing to do with D1 Scheduling.”

Davis committed to Morgan while he was coaching at Long Beach State. He redshirted his freshman season, Morgan’s last year at the school. Davis then spent two years at LACC before transferring to Iowa State.

“The bond as a coach and father figure that I have with Anthony Davis predates the existence of D1 Scheduling,” Morgan said.

“What’s important here is the fact that I’m trying to make it clear that there was never anything done wrong in recruiting or anything done wrong with scheduling.”

Morgan said he believes Cyclone fans know he did nothing wrong, but now he wants to get that message out to basketball fans across the nation.

“What’s important with me right now is to get to a point – not only here in Iowa where I think people understand that nothing was done that was not correct – but that nationwide people understand that nothing was done that was not correct and to put myself in a position where we can go on as quickly as possible to go on coaching,” he said.

Morgan will receive a buyout from the university totaling $1.5 million over the next two years. When asked about possible legal action against Iowa State, he avoided the question.

“Right now we’re all kind of dazzled by what’s happening,” Morgan said.

“At this point, myself and my family are interested in our transition from Iowa State.”

ISU Athletic Director Jamie Pollard also fired Morgan’s assistant coaches, cutting loose Damon Archibald, Eric Brown, Michael Mennenga and Dave Edwards.

Archibald would not make any comments after Morgan’s press conference, saying only that he was “just here for coach.”

Although he was fired after just three seasons, Morgan doesn’t think Pollard’s decision reflects his ability to coach.

“When an athletic director takes over a university, he has the right to decide what coaches work for him. He may have the right to decide what type of style he wants to see and he has the right to pursue that,” Morgan said.

“That has no negative impact on me. I’ve had nothing but success anywhere I’ve been. I think I have improved every single year as a basketball coach and I think I will continue to improve.”

In three seasons at Iowa State, Morgan compiled a 55-39 record. He led Iowa State to the NIT Final Four in his first season and followed with a trip to the NCAA tournament’s second round last year.

This season was a struggle for the Cyclones, who could only muster a 16-14 record and were shut out of postseason play.

“We did not do as well as we wanted to do this year, but we had a winning record,” Morgan said. “Our team went out and fought as hard as they could every time.”

Even with two postseason appearances already under his belt, Morgan was let go by Pollard, who didn’t think the coach could take Iowa State to the next level competitively.

Morgan disagreed with Pollard’s assessment.

“That’s his vision and he has the right to have that vision,” he said. “Over time we will see. Only time will be proof of that.”

A young and inexperienced team held Iowa State back this season, with four of the Cyclones regular contributors seeing their first Big 12 action.

Iowa State tied for seventh place in the Big 12 with a 6-10 record and lost in the first round of the conference tournament to fellow 6-10 team Oklahoma State. The Cyclones beat the Cowboys 68-52 during the regular season.

“It’s no secret we had a lot of young players who were learning a great deal in one of the toughest leagues in the country,” Morgan said.

“They did everything the best they could. Anybody who looked at us saw that the future was very bright.”