LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Louisville will be on the outside looking in at March Madness this spring, a view that neither the Cardinals players nor coach Rick Pitino expected.
University President James Ramsey announced a one-year postseason ban Friday for the Cardinals men’s basketball team amid ongoing investigations into a sex scandal, meaning this year’s squad will pay for misdeeds committed by others.
Ramsey said at a news conference that an investigation revealed violations occurred when the school reviewed allegations by an escort that a former Louisville staffer paid escort Katina Powell and other dancers to strip and have sex with recruits and players from 2010-14.
The ban is for all postseason tournaments, including the NCAA and the Atlantic Coast Conference tournaments. The president said he received the latest results of the investigation on Thursday, but noted the review of the allegations is continuing.
The decision means the regular season will be the end of the college careers for graduate school transfers Damion Lee and Trey Lewis, Louisville’s leading scorers.