Rick Pitino scandal: Why former Louisville coach forfeited title, left Cardinals program
Rick Pitino could make history this season if he can lead No. 2 seed St. John's to the Final Four in the 2025 men's NCAA Tournament.
The former Kentucky and Louisville coach is one of just two people to have led three different programs to the Final Four — the other being his counterpart on Saturday, coach John Calipari and No. 10 Arkansas. If the Red Storm can continue their successful second season under Pitino, he could lead a fourth program to the national semifinals.
Of course, Louisville basketball fans have mostly fond memories of Pitino's time with the Cardinals. Pitino, now 72, coached Louisville from 2001 to 2017 after a stint with the NBA's Boston Celtics.
Louisville went 13-19 in the season before Pitino took over, but quickly turned around under his leadership, to a 25-7 mark in his first season and a second-round appearance in the men's NCAA Tournament. Of course, Pitino became the first coach in college basketball to lead two programs to a national championship when the Cardinals won it all in 2013.
However, that season proved to be the beginning of the end for Pitino at Louisville. He was embroiled in two major scandals near the end of his tenure with the Cardinals, which eventually led to his firing before the start of the 2017-18 season.
Here's a look back at Pitino's scandals, which eventually led to his firing from Louisville:
What did Rick Pitino do at Louisville?
Pitino was part of two scandals during his time at Louisville, including a sex scandal involving recruits and players and, following that, a pay-for-play scandal as part of the FBI's Division I corruption scandal. The NCAA and Louisville both deemed him ultimately responsible as the head of the men's program, resulting in his eventual firing from the program.
Louisville sex scandal, revisited
In 2015, Katina Powell, a self-described madam, alleged to have paid several thousands of dollars to provide women to dance for and have sex with Louisville basketball recruits and players from 2010-14.
Eventually, the NCAA found Andre McGee — a former Louisville player who was acting director of basketball operations — to have organized more than a dozen sex parties. They involved paid strippers and prostitutes dancing for and having sex with Cardinals players and recruits at Minardi Hall, an on-campus dormitory. According to ESPN, seven recruits who engaged in sex acts with women were under the age of 18.
While the scandal did not directly involve Pitino, the NCAA levied Level I violations against him, claiming he violated his head coach responsibility to monitor recruiting to ensure it is within compliance.
As a result of the investigation and findings from the scandal ― which Pitino said he did not know of ― Louisville had to vacate 123 wins between 2011 and 2015, including a 2012 Final Four appearance and the 2013 national championship.
Pitino was also suspended for the first five games of the 2017-18 ACC schedule, but was fired before that occurred. The Cardinals also had to forfeit four scholarships during a four-year probation. The university also imposed a self-imposed postseason ban during the 2015-16 season.
Louisville pay-for-play scandal
While the escort scandal did not directly lead to Pitino's firing, a scandal involving a pay-for-play scheme for a recruit was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.
Pitino claimed he was not aware of any such scheme, but was put on administrative leave after the FBI alleged Louisville conspired with Adidas to pay five-star recruit Brian Bowen's family $100,000 to attend Louisville.
While placed on administrative leave, Steve Pence confirmed to the Courier-Journal that Pitino was "effectively fired." Louisville later officially fired him on Oct. 16, 2017, before the start of the 2017-18 season. The scandal went beyond Louisville and Pitino, with 10 people being arrested nationwide, including four men's assistant basketball coaches and a senior Adidas executive.
Before the two scandals that saw his tenure end with Louisville, Pitino was also involved in his own sex scandal when he admitted to having sex with Karen Sypher, the wife of a University of Louisville equipment manager.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Rick Pitino scandal: Looking back on former Louisville coach's firing
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