Louisville Basketball: Rick Pitino suspended five games as part of infractions decision
Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino was suspended for the first five ACC games next season as part of an infractions decision by the NCAA.
The NCAA released its infractions decision Thursday morning, saying that both Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino and former basketball operations director Andre McGee were responsible for NCAA violations.
McGee, according to the Committee of Infractions (COI), is the prominent figure in the Louisville case. The NCAA, in its statement, said McGee committed serious violations by arranging for strippers and prostitutes to perform dances and sex acts with recruits.
Pitino failed to monitor the situation, according to the COI. As part of the infractions decision, Pitino received a five game ACC suspension.
McGee, meanwhile, received a 10-year show cause penalty that won’t allow him to be employed by an NCAA member school until 2027.
Additionally, another program assistant received a one-year show cause penalty for not cooperating with investigators.
The program itself is under a four-year probation period.
The NCAA accepted several of the self-imposed penalties, including the postseason ban from 2015-16.
The punishments have been doled out, but the Cardinals might have more coming their way.
The NCAA has requested a written report of the impact of ineligible players from 2010-2014.
As many have said, that does include the 2013 National Championship winning season for the Cardinals. Yes, the NCAA could strip Louisville of its title.
As Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports pointed out, there wouldn’t be a National Champion for 2013.
It’s a tough spot for Louisville to be in. If there’s a plus side, they don’t have to worry about a future postseason ban.
They only lose Pitino for five ACC games. And their self-imposed recruiting limitations allow them to allow one more visit than the previous year.
It could have been much worse for Pitino. He gets to keep his job, and he can coach the non-conference schedule.
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However, because of probation, Louisville can’t have recruits unofficially stay overnight during its duration.