The Courier-Journal recently spoke with several experts who believe Louisville’s 2013 national title is in jeopardy as a result of their escort scandal.
The NCAA recently hit Louisville with an official Notice of Allegations that included Level I Violations.
Here is an excerpt:
Two former members of the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions say it is almost automatic for the panel to vacate victories from teams that used players later determined to be ineligible.
One of them, Rodney Uphoff, a University of Missouri law professor who served on the committee from 2008-14, said the only defense would be if the player or players mostly rode the bench and did not make a big contribution to the wins.
Jerry Parkinson, a former law school dean at the University of Wyoming who was on the committee from 2000-10, said it became increasingly automatic during his tenure to vacate wins earned with ineligible players. he cited Memphis, whose 38-victory season – including its run to the championship game – was vacated when the NCAA found freshman Derrick Rose’s SAT score was fraudulent because somebody took the test for him.
Former NCAA enforcement director Chuck Smrt, who was hired by U of L to conduct its internal investigation, said at a news conference last week that vacating victories and the national championship are among the possible penalties for the university but he said he didn’t think they would be “appropriate.”
In an email Monday, he declined to elaborate, saying it wouldn’t be in U of L’s best interests for him to discuss specifics. The only thing he would say is that it is “always very difficult to compare cases.”
The NCAA charges released Thursday allege that former employee Andre McGee provided at least $5,400 in striptease shows and sex to 17 recruits and players, but because the university redacted names and dates, it is impossible to know if any played in the 2012-13 season, which ended with the Cardinals defeating Michigan to win the national title.
