Louisville received a notice of allegations Monday from the NCAA as the fallout from the FBI’s investigation into college basketball continues.
The meat of the alleged charges – which include one Level I violation and three Level II violations – stem from the Cardinals recruitment of former five-star Brian Bowen and extra benefits alleged to have been offered to his family via Adidas.
THAMEL: Postseason ban could be in works for Louisville down the line
Of course, for anybody who has been following college basketball even remotely closely, the NOA to Louisville is no surprise and the allegations and evidence surrounding the charges have been well-documented throughout the FBI case. Also, Louisville cleaned house with the high-profile firing of Rick Pitino and others.
That Louisville took swift action when the news first hit could be helpful to its cause, but the fact that it was already on probation from an escort scandal that resulted in the forfeiture of their 2013 National Championship is damaging. How they NCAA views these “new” allegations if determined to be true could cause some pretty stiff penalties like bans from the NCAA Tournament, loss of scholarships and recruiting visits and extended probation.
It is also going to be interesting to see how the NCAA applies or hands out any potential punishment to Pitino, who was recently hired as the head coach at Iona. He could be looking at a suspension or show cause action.
Chris Mack was brought in from Xavier to replace Pitino and it’s pretty clear that he and Louisville are ready to fight the NCAA as needed.
“While I understand the allegations brought today, I am confident that the University will do what is right, which includes fighting back on those charges that we simply do not agree with, and for which the facts do not substantiate.”
As for any immediate impact on the program, the Notice of Allegations shouldn’t hurt the Cardinals. Since taking over in the spring of 2018, Mack and his staff have been operating under the scrutiny that the FBI trial and considerable media coverage have brought on the program. Still, they managed to sign the No. 6 recruiting class in 2019 and currently hold the No. 32 ranked recruiting class in 2020. On the court they made the NCAA Tournament in 2019 and tied for second in the ACC going 24-7 in 2020.
While it’s not good news to have the NOA dropped on your program, this is nothing unexpected and shouldn’t result in any immediate recruiting issues. Any issues would potentially be with the 2021 class and beyond as Mack and his staff have to persuade recruits that things are going to be ok, but as we’ve seen with many other programs brought into scrutiny for alleged improprieties, recruiting seems to be rolling along just fine and it’s not unreasonable to think the same won’t happen for the Cardinals.
