NCAA decision on Louisville basketball violations could come as early as Thursday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- More than five years after the FBI unsealed a sweeping investigation into college basketball corruption, the NCAA verdict appears to be in for the University of Louisville men's basketball program.

U of L sources could not confirm a report by Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde that a decision from a panel of the NCAA's Independent Accountability Resolution Process on Louisville's infractions case is expected to be announced Thursday, but one source acknowledged "it would not surprise me if it came in the next couple of days." That source added that the school had gotten no direct notice as of early Wednesday afternoon. A second source said that the school was expecting to get a decision sometime this week. 

The program, which faces enhanced penalties for alleged recruiting violations that occurred on the heels of going on probation for the Katina Powell sex-for-recruits scandal, will have to abide by the lARP's decision. No appeal is allowed.

The ruling will be the culmination of a process that began the day the FBI announced that the school was alleged to have benefited from a $100,000 offer to Saginaw, Michigan, prep standout Brian Bowen to play basketball for Louisville and to sign with Adidas after turning pro.

The case includes lesser offers to other players, and is aggravated by allegations that former coach Chris Mack committed secondary NCAA violations by sending impermissible personalized recruiting videos to prospects and by having unauthorized personnel participate in scrimmages.

Former Louisville coach Rick Pitino, who was dismissed shortly after the allegations from the FBI came to light, also faces sanction from the IARP. Neither the FBI nor NCAA complex case unit investigators could find proof that Pitino or officials at U of L knew of the Adidas scheme, but the coach, who now is the head coach at Iona University, still could be punished under NCAA head coach responsibility legislation.

In addition to Pitino, the university also parted ways with longtime athletic director Tom Jurich. Last December, his successor as AD, Vince Tyra, and then-U of L president Neeli Bendapudi also left the university. Tyra left to return to opportunities in private business and Bendapudi became president of Penn State University. In January, Mack and new AD Josh Heird negotiated Mack's departure from the school.

Last week, Heird said he was hopeful the school would learn its fate soon, and said he was also hopeful that the stiffest penalties could be avoided.

"It's been five-plus years,” Heird said. "Think about that. Five years, it's hard to believe. And so, whatever the decision is, there will be some relief. ... There's no way to tell (how the decision will go), you know, the variables in each of the cases are different. I think the one for me is just the repeat offender status. I think that's the glaring difference as you try to compare. But I have no idea. I just want it behind us. I want our program to move forward. I want Kenny (Payne) and his program to be able to move forward, put this behind us and just make sure that we never have to deal with it again.”

This story will be updated.

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