University of Louisville head basketball coach Rick Pitino received a five-game suspension from the NCAA on Thursday as a punishment regarding a sex scandal that occurred under his program.
According to the NCAA ruling, Pitino “violated NCAA head coach responsibility rules” by failing to monitor the actions of his former assistant coach Andre McGee, who allegedly hired strippers to entertain Louisville players and recruits, ESPN reports.
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The NCAA Committee on Infractions ruled that McGee “acted unethically when he committed serious violations by arranging striptease dance and sex acts for prospects, student-athletes and others, and did not cooperate with the investigation.”
Pitino will be suspended from coaching for the first five ACC games next season. McGee received a 10-year show cause penalty, according to ESPN.
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The Cardinals basketball program has also been put on probation for four years during which they will have a reduced number of scholarships to offer and will have additional recruiting restrictions put in place. Louisville will also have to forfeit “any money received through conference revenue sharing from the 2012-15 NCAA tournaments,” ESPN reports.
Louisville’s latest national title is also at risk. The NCAA ruled that all basketball records in which Louisville’s student-athletes competed while ineligible from December 2010 to July 2014 must be vacated. The Cardinals won a national title in 2013.