The University of Louisville was hit hard with sanctions Thursday afternoon for their reported pay for Sex Scandal that ran from 2010 to 2014. Myron Medcalf of ESPN reported that head coach Rick Pitino will be banned for the first five ACC games of the 2017-2018 season, and the program will be on probation for four years. These will be added on to Louisville's self imposed sanctions of recruiting restrictions, scholarship reductions, a $5,000 fine, and the forfeiting of all revenue earned from the 2012-2015 NCAA tournament games.
The backstory
Former assistant coach Andre McGee was accused of hiring strippers, escorts, and having parties for recruits during the four year time period.
Katina Powell, a former escort, said that McGee paid her $10,000 to perform in 22 shows. Powell went on to write a book, "Breaking Cardinal Rules: Basketball and the Escort Queen" in 2015 that revealed many of these allegations.
Will the national championship stay?
According to Metcalf, it is unclear if the Cardinals will lose their 2012-2013 National Championship. According to the sanctions, Louisville will have to vacate any player records from ineligible players from that time period. College basketball analyst Jay Bilas went on ESPN to say that he believes that the banner will come down after these sanctions imposed by the NCAA.
Due to the sanctions that state that any ineligible player must be removed during that time period, Bilas finds it hard to believe that Louisville will be able to prove that every player on that roster at the time was innocent.
If this proves true, this would be the first time that a championship banner would come down due to NCAA sanctions.
Louisville will appeal
Louisville interim president Greg Postel confirmed that the Cardinals will appeal these sanctions. In Medcalf's article, Postel said in a statement that the NCAA sanctions "went beyond what we consider to be fair and reasonable."
McGee and Powell will not be prosecuted
In Jefferson County, Kentucky, McGee and Powell will not be criminally charged.
A grand jury declined an indictment due to a lack of credible evidence. However, Mcgee was hit with a 10 year show-cause penalty, which is the most severe penalty a collegiate coach could receive.
The show-cause penalty states that a college coach cannot escape the violations by moving to another college. The penalties imposed on McGee will stick with him for at least ten years.
