Louisville Cardinals must vacate basketball title, NCAA denies appeal
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville must vacate its 2013 men’s basketball title following an NCAA appeals panel’s decision to uphold sanctions against the men’s program in the sex scandal case.
The Cardinals will have to vacate 123 victories including the championship, and return some $600,000 in conference revenue from the 2012-15 NCAA Tournaments.
The decision announced on Tuesday by the governing body’s Infraction Appeals Committee ruled that the NCAA has the authority to take away championships for what it considers major rule violations. It also refuted Louisville’s position that the NCAA exceeded its boundaries and didn’t follow its own precedent established in other cases and said in an eight-page decision that ended, “the penalties are upheld.”
“I cannot say this strongly enough: We believe the NCAA is simply wrong,” Louisville interim President Dr. Greg Postel said in a statement. “We disagree with the NCAA ruling for reasons we clearly stated in our appeal. And we made a strong case – based on NCAA precedent – that supported our argument.”