{"id":15055,"date":"2018-02-20T19:09:00","date_gmt":"2018-02-20T19:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/2018\/02\/20\/louisville-must-vacate-its-2013-national-title-after-ncaa-upholds-ruling\/"},"modified":"2018-02-20T19:09:00","modified_gmt":"2018-02-20T19:09:00","slug":"louisville-must-vacate-its-2013-national-title-after-ncaa-upholds-ruling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/louisville-must-vacate-its-2013-national-title-after-ncaa-upholds-ruling\/","title":{"rendered":"Louisville Must Vacate Its 2013 National Title After NCAA Upholds Ruling"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Colin Dwyer<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

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\n The Louisville Cardinals celebrate after they won the 2013 NCAA men’s basketball national championship against Michigan. On Tuesday, the NCAA upheld its 2017 ruling that Louisville must vacate its records from 2011 to 2015, including its national title.<\/p>\n

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Andy Lyons\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Andy Lyons\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

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The NCAA has confirmed the University of Louisville must give up its 2013 national championship in men’s basketball, denying the school’s appeal of a decision last year<\/a> that penalized the Cardinals’ program for “arranging striptease dances and sex acts for prospects, student-athletes and others.”<\/p>\n

“The violations in the case resulted in some men’s basketball student-athletes competing while ineligible,” the NCAA explained in its announcement Tuesday<\/a>, later adding: “The appeals committee stated when student-athletes participate while ineligible, these types of penalties are appropriate.”<\/p>\n

The ruling last June specifically faulted Andre McGee, the school’s former director of basketball operations, for acting “unethically when he committed serious violations.” It also singled out former coach Rick Pitino, who was fired<\/a> last fall after a federal fraud investigation implicated Louisville in still another massive scandal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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For their rule violations, the NCAA ruled that the men’s basketball program must vacate its records from 2011 to 2015 \u2014 including the 2013 title and a Final Four appearance in 2012. In total, the program will lose 123 wins, which ESPN Stats & Info says<\/a> was second-most in men’s Division I basketball over that span.<\/p>\n

That 2013 title was Louisville’s only men’s national championship in the past three decades.<\/p>\n

As member station WFPL reports<\/a>, “the university must also return money received through conference revenue sharing for its appearances” in the NCAA tournament each of those years. ESPN notes<\/a> this will also give Louisville the unwelcome distinction of being the first NCAA DI men’s basketball team “to vacate a national title during the Final Four era.”<\/p>\n

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Louisville will vacate 123 wins from the 2011-12 through 2014-15 seasons (including 15 NCAA Tournament wins). That was the 2nd-most in D-I men’s basketball in that span. pic.twitter.com\/OWzSJO0aWs<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 20, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Louisville, for its part, has staunchly objected to the decision.<\/p>\n