LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville officials are not happy with the NCAA’s decision that mandates the school vacate its 2013 men’s basketball championship in the wake of an embarrassing sex scandal, and interim President Greg Postel did not hide his disappointment. The Cardinals also were placed on NCAA probation for four years, which includes scholarship reductions and recruiting restrictions, a $5,000 fine and the forfeiture of any money received through conference revenue sharing from the 2012-15 NCAA tournaments. The NCAA’s Infractions Appeals Committee announced on Tuesday that it upheld the Committee on Infractions’ ruling that Louisville must vacate 123 wins under former coach Rick Pitino, including the 2013 title and the 2012 Final Four appearance, as punishment in the school’s escort case. 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.”

Louisville now must forfeit its third NCAA title, victories and income from 2012-15, part of the timeframe during which the violations occurred. FIVE THINGS: The impact of Louisville is losing its 2013 NCAA title

TIMELINE: The Louisville basketball investigation from 2015 to 2018

Louisville self-imposed a postseason ban for the 2016 ACC and NCAA tournaments, and later added self-imposed recruiting sanctions after confirming Powell’s allegations that former Cards basketball staffer Andre McGee paid women thousands of dollars and gave them game tickets in exchange for them dancing for and having sex with players and recruits. 'From Day One, the university has admitted that the actions of the former operations director and any others involved under previous leadership were offensive and inexcusable,' read Postel's statement on Tuesday. “… The violations were serious, intentional, numerous and occurred over multiple years.”

Louisville appealed those two punishments, saying they were excessive and “draconian.” The school accepted four years of probation for the school’s men’s hoops program, plus scholarship reductions and the lesser financial penalties. While the NCAA accepted Louisville’s actions, it went further with harsher sanctions last June that included:

— A five-game suspension of former Cardinals coach Rick Pitino, who was fired in October following Louisville’s acknowledgement that it was being investigated in a federal bribery probe of college basketball. “While we disagree with the NCAA’s decision, it is time for the university to close this chapter and move forward with a stronger commitment to excellence on and off the court.”

Interim coach David Padgett said he talked to his team about the announcement and texted several former players from that title squad, reminding them of their achievement.
In college basketball, the NCAA denies an appeal of sanctions imposed on the University of Louisville stemming from a sex scandal first publicized in 2015. The most significant sanction requires Louisville to vacate its 2013 national title, making the Cardinals the first Division I men's or women's basketball team ever forced to vacate a national title.