Louisville imposed a one-year postseason ban for its men's basketball team
The Cardinals won't be at the NCAA Tournament
When the University first learned of allegations against our men's basketball program, it initiated the University's existing processes to undertake a complete and thorough review of information concerning potential violations of NCAA legislation. This included hiring Chuck Smrt of the Compliance Group who has extensive experience in NCAA inquiries. I also activated the University of Louisville Investigative Committee, which includes three faculty members. Soon thereafter, the institution and the NCAA began a joint inquiry. The committee and I were provided regular updates on its progress.
Yesterday, as chair of the investigative committee, I received the most recent update. Based upon the available information gathered by the NCAA Enforcement Staff and the University of Louisville, I determined that it was reasonable to conclude violations had occurred in the men's basketball program in the past.
After consulting with Director of Athletics Tom Jurich, we made the decision to withhold the men's basketball program from all conference and NCAA postseason competition following the 2015-16 men's basketball season. I recognize that this is a significant penalty for our program and will be a disappointment to our student athletes and to many in the UofL family—our students, faculty, staff, alumni, friends and our fans.
The University is continuing to cooperate with the NCAA on the resolution of this matter and will evaluate the information as the inquiry continues.
While this was a difficult decision, it was made in the best interest of our University community. We will be able to provide additional information surrounding the inquiry and this decision at its conclusion. Given the ongoing inquiry, and in accordance with NCAA bylaws, we cannot comment further at this time.
I want to assure our students, faculty and staff that we remain focused on our educational mission and state mandate. We continue to provide our students the very best learning environment that allows for them to be successful. We remain focused on our research programs and service to our community.
Finally, I continue to support Tom Jurich, Coach Pitino and the outstanding student-athletes in our men's basketball program.
Transcript of Press Conference (2/5/2016)
(President Ramsey opening statement)
"When the University first learned of the allegations against our men's basketball program, we initiated the University's existing processes to undertake a complete and thorough review of information concerning potential violations of NCAA legislation. This included hiring Chuck Smrt of the Compliance Group who has extensive experience in NCAA inquiries. and I also activated the University of Louisville investigative committee which includes three faculty members. Soon thereafter, the institution and the NCAA began a joint inquiry. The committee and I have been provided regular updates over the last several months as to the process of the inquiry. Yesterday, as chairman of the investigative committee, I received the most recent update. Based upon the available information gathered by the NCAA enforcement staff and the University of Louisville, I determined that it was reasonable to conclude that violations had occurred in the men's basketball program in the past. After consulting with Tom (Jurich), I made the decision to withhold the men's basketball program from all conference and NCAA postseason competition following the 2015-2016 men's basketball season. I recognize that this is a significant penalty for our program and this will be a disappointment for our student-athletes and to many in the University of Louisville family; our students, our faculty, our staff, our alums, our friends, and our great fans. The University is continuing to cooperate with the NCAA on the resolution of this matter and will evaluate the further information as the inquiry continues. While this was a difficult decision, it was made in the best interest of the University of Louisville. We will be able to provide additional information surrounding the inquiry and this decision at the inquiry's conclusion. Giving the ongoing nature of the inquiry, in accordance with NCAA by-laws, we cannot comment further at this time. I want to assure our students, our faculty, our staff, that we at the University of Louisville remain focused on our educational mission and state mandate. We continue to provide our students with the very best learning environment that allows them to be successful. We continue to be focused on our research and our service to our community. Finally, I continue to support Tom Jurich, Coach Pitino, and our men's basketball program. With that, I'll turn it over to Tom."
(Tom Jurich's statement)
"When the allegations first broke from the people up in Indianapolis, we said, myself and Coach Pitino especially, we said 'if there's some wrong doing we're going to get to the bottom of it. We want the truth and we'll deal with it, we will own our problems. We found out yesterday that we had a problem, it was verified by Chuck (Smrt) and the NCAA and so we want to deal with this in the most rapid way as we possibly can. Although this is a very disappointing time and a very sad day for all of us, it's extremely sad for our players, who I think you've all come to know and love as a great group of young men. We want to what's right by the University and by the NCAA. We support these actions, they're going to be very painful as we all know, but we will move forward as we continue to grow."
(Rick Pitino statement)
"I just met with our basketball team and to take you back, 'painful' probably would, I could characterize it as one of the best understatements I could make. This spring, I contacted Ralph Willard and said to him, 'Listen, Ralph, I think we've got something special here with the group of guys coming back. I would like you to put away your golf clubs and just help us for one year because I think this is the most special group.' I said, 'we're going to go to Puerto Rico and play and I think you will enjoy yourself more than any time you've ever coached when you meet these guys.' He concluded I was right over the summer. We didn't know how good we would be, but we knew we had a special group. I compared it to the 1987 Providence team, which is probably as close to my heart as any team I have coached. They went on and every single day, at least four to five times a week, I gave them some inspirational footage of teams of mine that did well in the NCAA tournament because they were an inexperienced group. Nobody, with the exception of Quentin [Snider] and Nanu (Chinanu Onuwaku), really competed in the NCAA Tournament before, but I knew they had great promise. And…. I told them about the journey to the Final Four, to a championship. And we talked about it all week long. After they picked themselves off the mat against Virginia and beat North Carolina, standing at 18-4 and second in the ACC, we believed that it was in our grasp. That all these dreams that Damion (Lee) and Trey (Lewis) had. When they came to me, and they said to me 'Coach, we've never experienced the NCAA tournament, and Louisville has a record for going far. We just want the experience one time of playing in the tournament and seeing how far we can go.' And over the summer Damion kept this, that video you see before the game of 'Who's got my back?', he kept saying that over and over, and after the North Carolina win, they were screaming it in the locker room. And I just left them and spoke to Damion and Trey, who will be available to you at 6:00 tonight at our practice facility. I just spoke to both of them before we met with the team. And I realize, I continue to realize, how special they are, because it doesn't happen every day for a coach. As I told them the penalty, they all stood up and just started hugging Damion and Trey as they cried. And, you know, it's never easy for the people that don't deserve it. It happens all the time. This is not a team that wasn't going to make the tournament. This is a team that is very much favored to go very far in the tournament. So this penalty is quite substantial, much more, it comes with complete shock to me because I've been kept in the dark with all the things that Dr. Ramsey has gone through with his committee. And coaches are supposed to be kept in the dark, it wasn't anything on purpose. Coaches are supposed to be totally oblivious to anything that's going on when it comes to the investigation.
That being said, I've had my share of crying. And didn't want to go through it anymore, but this is certainly a night of extreme pain - last night especially, before telling them this. But as we move forward… I go through so many, being in this town, difficult times because Kentucky is part of the fabric of this community. And the fact that I coached at Kentucky for eight years, people always ask me what I remember most about my experiences. Was it the championship? Was it the three Final Fours? Was it the Christian Laettner loss? You know what I remember the most is when I got there some guy was living on a billboard for 30 days, until they hired a coach. And they said that 'this would be the nadir, the lowest point in Kentucky history. And the four guys that were left behind weren't very good. Probably not going to play for you, but that's all you got.' And I told those four guys 'Stop hanging your heads and get yourself into shape and get with it. It's not the end of the world. We'll survive. You'll survive and go through much worse than this.' But the thing I was blown away with, everything I've experienced there, for the next two years, even though that first year's team beat Shaquille O'Neal, Stanley Robinson, [and] Chris Jackson, the thing that was most amazing to me was we had the largest crowds in the history of Kentucky basketball, and this team wasn't going anywhere. And then the following year we won the SEC, although we couldn't be acknowledged or go to the tournament. And now this team…. The year after we lost that game to Christian Laettner at the buzzer, and those four guys who weren't very good, out of shape, their four names were put up to the rafters at Rupp, and they were known as 'The Unforgettables'. And the lesson that I lesson that I learned about that was the support for a difficult time from the fans.
See, Damion and Trey have nothing – nothing to look forward to future-wise right now. They were hit over the head with a sledgehammer, and they're devastated, as well as the rest of the team, for actions that they weren't involved with. They came here to go far in the tournament. They've done their job. They've captured the imagination of our fans. They've led a basketball team with an attitude second-to-none. The reason that I bring about that story of the largest crowds at Kentucky and the tremendous support those four kids got, was that the final four home games is all they have left. And it's up to our fans, our administration, and our university to lift them up as high as they can be lifted, along with the rest of the members of this basketball team who have just given me so much personal satisfaction and happiness. So I call for our fans to come out in the final four games in full force to honor not only Damion (Lee) and Trey (Lewis), but it's all we have left this season to look forward to. This is a punishment I thought would never happen this season. This is a decision that's as harsh as anything I have seen, but I'm a soldier in this army and I will go along Dr. Ramsey and certainly there is no one in life I have more respect for than Tom Jurich. So, we will go along with this and we will play the last nine games of the season as if they are the last nine games we'll ever play the game. I would like you to call to our fans to come out in full force tomorrow in support of these incredible young men and that is all I can ask for as the head basketball coach. Thank you."
(Has the university received a notice of allegations from the NCAA)
Chuck Smrt: "We cannot comment, unfortunately, on the status, timeline or any of the specific information. A case is not concluded until the Committee on Infractions issues a report. There has been no report issued in this case, therefore we cannot comment about any procedural items or where the status of the case is."
(Question inaudible)
Dr. James Ramsey: "We became aware of information that confirmed that we had violated NCAA rules and regulations. We said from the beginning we would conduct a thorough, complete, honest evaluation. The investigation, inquiry is still going on, but we know that we have committed a violation, so we are taking this action."
(On the decision process to take this action now, instead of waiting)
Dr. James Ramsey: "We looked at all the options. We looked at waiting. And Chuck (Smrt) can explain better, the penalty structure of the NCAA, but we believe that when you looked at everything, that self-imposing the penalty at this time was certainly in the best interest of the university and program. So Chuck (Smrt), you want to talk about the Level 1 and the different categories of penalties?"
Chuck Smrt: "The institution hasn't taken a position yet specifically on what I would call the classifications, the various classifications, but based upon the available information, the belief was the institution is in violation. So, then we looked at what the appropriate action to take was and we came out with the postseason ban. I think this is a very significant step for an institution when the case is not concluded. But it verifies what President Ramsey and Tom (Jurich) said early on, we are going to continually evaluate and assess the information and when we believe it rises to the level of a conclusion that a violation occurred, we are going to act and that is what they have done."
(On if the NCAA can impose higher penalties)
Chuck Smrt: "The case is not concluded. In any case, until the Committee on Infractions issues a report, there are always going to be continual assessment of information of penalties. So, the institution is going to continually assess what it has and what if anything needs to be undertaken."
(On whether this is the worst day as a head coach)
Rick Pitino: "Well without ranking bad days. I will say that speaking to the team and watching my players cry and hug Damion and Trey. It was pretty difficult."
(On whether they received new information yesterday from the report)
Tom Jurich: "No, the problem was brought to me yesterday. They have an investigative committee on campus that Dr. Ramsey heads up, I was not a part of that nor should I have been. I am like coach have pretty much been in the dark in this whole thing until there were some findings and we all said once we knew there were findings, we would act on them as quickly as possible and that is what our decision has been to be."
Chuck Smrt: "To this day coach Pitino nor Tom know the specifics of the investigation."
(On whether he will speak to the team regarding their decision)
James Ramsey: "If coach thinks that is the appropriate thing to do, I will be more than happy to."
(On whether there are any additional penalties or staff changes that will be made based on the new information)
James Ramsey: "No."
(Question inaudible)
Chuck Smrt: "Again that would be talking about the specifics of an ongoing inquiry."
(Question inaudible)
Chuck Smrt: "Unfortunately that would fall in that category."
(Question inaudible)
Chuck Smrt: "No and I appreciate your frustration but one of the disadvantages is when a school takes action while the inquiry is ongoing, again, it shows decisiveness. It shows showing the integrity of the institution. Unfortunately it also handcuffs the institution that can't talk about it. At some point though, this information will come out and you will be able to evaluate here is what the institution had at different points along the way and here is the actions that they have taken up. I understand the frustration that you don't have some of the information that is the basis for a decision. Unfortunately, since the institution acted so decisively at this time before the conclusion, we are bound by NCAA by-laws on what can be said."
(On whether this is an NCAA decision or not?)
Chuck Smrt: "This is an institutional decision."
(On whether there is anything the NCAA acts favorable on with self-imposed sanctions)
Chuck Smrt: "There is an expectation that the institution, or any institution, when it discovers a violation, it is supposed to take actions and the institution came to a conclusion that a violation had occurred and it is taking this action."
(On whether he believed this sanction could come down this season)
Rick Pitino: "A week ago after speaking with Tom, I didn't think that there was any possibility of that happening but like I said that Tom and I have been in the dark on this from day one. You know just to take you back a little bit, Chuck had a conversation with me when I first said absolutely I had no knowledge of any of this and by the way, when I said that, there is not a coach in division I, II, or III basketball who would have tolerated anything like that. So it is not just that I wouldn't tolerate, there is not one coach. The most sinister individual I have ever met in my life wouldn't tolerate anything that was being said so it was not a patronizing on my part. That being said, at that point in time I just came out and said I had absolutely no knowledge and then I said I couldn't find anyone who has any knowledge and Chuck said to me you can't say that. You can't go to a press conference with the ACC and say that because you are basically intimidating witnesses, how do you know that. Well I saw the point and that is why I didn't go because I can't just keep saying no comment, no comment, no comment, no comment, I think it is foolish because I am not that type of person. So not in my wildest dreams I would think this would happen. Like I said I have been giving them motivational things every single day, getting them ready for the tournament, getting them ready for the ACC tournament and preparing them game- by-game for something magical because I thought this was a magical group. You never know."
(Question inaudible)
Rick Pitino: "You know, I keep going back to where I didn't read the book and I thanked Eric a number of times for coming up with all the inaccuracies in 30 to 40 percent of the book. That being said, where there is smoke there is fire. Tim, I just can't fathom why – I just don't understand why in any of this, none of it makes sense. I understand why someone robs a bank, they want money. None of this, still to this day, makes any sense to me at all -any of the actions that went on. That is just the thing that I have had many sleepless nights over. I still can't figure out why."
(Question inaudible)
Rick Pitino: "Again, because everyone has kept me in the dark if I would ask questions. The only thing I did, was I went to the managers and said 'did you guys know of anything?' I went to my nephews and said 'did you guys see anything at all?' To the dorm person 'did you see anything at all?' I wanted to know how to correct a situation that I have to deal with – and I got a negative response. At that point Tom told me to just let the investigators do it. Just let it die completely and just coach the team. He kept saying just coach the team. I will handle everything else and that's what I did."
(Question inaudible)
Chuck Smrt: "The way it played out at this institution, as other institutions is that there is an investigative committee. The specific information provided during interviews is only provided to that group and its to protect the integrity of the investigation. What coach is talking about was when he heard initial information back in early August or September, not once the committee got up and running and everyone started communicating with the NCAA. What the institution is talking about is very common at most institutions that are going through a review."
(Question inaudible)
Tom Jurich: "We have not even looked at that Fred."
Dr. Ramsey: "Money was not an issue."
(whether one piece of information caused the need for immediate action)
Dr. Ramsey: "Money was not an issue. I cannot comment on that."
(Question inaudible)
Chuck Smrt: "It was a continual assessment. In these types of thing, you are continually assessing and evaluating information to come up with conclusions. It was based upon conversations yesterday, it seemed reasonable, that based upon all the information that a violation had occurred. And again, going back to the premise of the inquiry, we are going to get at the truth and once some information is discovered that a violation has occurred, an action will be taken. You can see that this happened within 24 hours."
(Question inaudible)
Rick Pitino: "You know it is obviously … I had second thoughts but I put all my faith in Tom (Jurich). We are not only great friends but my respect for him - he has far more - this is his job. If we made any mistakes, it was to keep him in the dark. It is okay to keep me in the dark. But, I respect him. I believe in him and although it is very difficult time, he is the leader of our university and I have all my faith in him – that the right thing is being done. I have the tough job ahead and that is why I called for the fans to get behind these guys and give them a good going away party. I totally have great faith in Tom. Dr. Ramsey gets paid to make a lot of tough decisions with this university in mind and with the benefit of the university in mind. It is not for me to second guess anybody. Like I said, I am a soldier in this army and I do what the generals say. I believe in the generals here. I believe in what they - it is tough to say we have all this integrity. It is tough to say that we do all things the right way, when this has gone on. But I believe from the bottom of my heart that we stand for great integrity. We stand for academic excellence. We stand for the student athlete for doing the right things. If I catch anybody doing the wrong thing there are always huge consequences to pay. I have done that for over 41 years. Unfortunately, we are going to have to go through this and this team, who is absolutely innocent, will have to go through it. But I will get those guys through it. I got those Kentucky guys through it. I will get this group through it."
Yesterday, as chair of the investigative committee, I received the most recent update. Based upon the available information gathered by the NCAA Enforcement Staff and the University of Louisville, I determined that it was reasonable to conclude violations had occurred in the men's basketball program in the past.
After consulting with Director of Athletics Tom Jurich, we made the decision to withhold the men's basketball program from all conference and NCAA postseason competition following the 2015-16 men's basketball season. I recognize that this is a significant penalty for our program and will be a disappointment to our student athletes and to many in the UofL family—our students, faculty, staff, alumni, friends and our fans.
The University is continuing to cooperate with the NCAA on the resolution of this matter and will evaluate the information as the inquiry continues.
While this was a difficult decision, it was made in the best interest of our University community. We will be able to provide additional information surrounding the inquiry and this decision at its conclusion. Given the ongoing inquiry, and in accordance with NCAA bylaws, we cannot comment further at this time.
I want to assure our students, faculty and staff that we remain focused on our educational mission and state mandate. We continue to provide our students the very best learning environment that allows for them to be successful. We remain focused on our research programs and service to our community.
Finally, I continue to support Tom Jurich, Coach Pitino and the outstanding student-athletes in our men's basketball program.
Transcript of Press Conference (2/5/2016)
(President Ramsey opening statement)
"When the University first learned of the allegations against our men's basketball program, we initiated the University's existing processes to undertake a complete and thorough review of information concerning potential violations of NCAA legislation. This included hiring Chuck Smrt of the Compliance Group who has extensive experience in NCAA inquiries. and I also activated the University of Louisville investigative committee which includes three faculty members. Soon thereafter, the institution and the NCAA began a joint inquiry. The committee and I have been provided regular updates over the last several months as to the process of the inquiry. Yesterday, as chairman of the investigative committee, I received the most recent update. Based upon the available information gathered by the NCAA enforcement staff and the University of Louisville, I determined that it was reasonable to conclude that violations had occurred in the men's basketball program in the past. After consulting with Tom (Jurich), I made the decision to withhold the men's basketball program from all conference and NCAA postseason competition following the 2015-2016 men's basketball season. I recognize that this is a significant penalty for our program and this will be a disappointment for our student-athletes and to many in the University of Louisville family; our students, our faculty, our staff, our alums, our friends, and our great fans. The University is continuing to cooperate with the NCAA on the resolution of this matter and will evaluate the further information as the inquiry continues. While this was a difficult decision, it was made in the best interest of the University of Louisville. We will be able to provide additional information surrounding the inquiry and this decision at the inquiry's conclusion. Giving the ongoing nature of the inquiry, in accordance with NCAA by-laws, we cannot comment further at this time. I want to assure our students, our faculty, our staff, that we at the University of Louisville remain focused on our educational mission and state mandate. We continue to provide our students with the very best learning environment that allows them to be successful. We continue to be focused on our research and our service to our community. Finally, I continue to support Tom Jurich, Coach Pitino, and our men's basketball program. With that, I'll turn it over to Tom."
(Tom Jurich's statement)
"When the allegations first broke from the people up in Indianapolis, we said, myself and Coach Pitino especially, we said 'if there's some wrong doing we're going to get to the bottom of it. We want the truth and we'll deal with it, we will own our problems. We found out yesterday that we had a problem, it was verified by Chuck (Smrt) and the NCAA and so we want to deal with this in the most rapid way as we possibly can. Although this is a very disappointing time and a very sad day for all of us, it's extremely sad for our players, who I think you've all come to know and love as a great group of young men. We want to what's right by the University and by the NCAA. We support these actions, they're going to be very painful as we all know, but we will move forward as we continue to grow."
(Rick Pitino statement)
"I just met with our basketball team and to take you back, 'painful' probably would, I could characterize it as one of the best understatements I could make. This spring, I contacted Ralph Willard and said to him, 'Listen, Ralph, I think we've got something special here with the group of guys coming back. I would like you to put away your golf clubs and just help us for one year because I think this is the most special group.' I said, 'we're going to go to Puerto Rico and play and I think you will enjoy yourself more than any time you've ever coached when you meet these guys.' He concluded I was right over the summer. We didn't know how good we would be, but we knew we had a special group. I compared it to the 1987 Providence team, which is probably as close to my heart as any team I have coached. They went on and every single day, at least four to five times a week, I gave them some inspirational footage of teams of mine that did well in the NCAA tournament because they were an inexperienced group. Nobody, with the exception of Quentin [Snider] and Nanu (Chinanu Onuwaku), really competed in the NCAA Tournament before, but I knew they had great promise. And…. I told them about the journey to the Final Four, to a championship. And we talked about it all week long. After they picked themselves off the mat against Virginia and beat North Carolina, standing at 18-4 and second in the ACC, we believed that it was in our grasp. That all these dreams that Damion (Lee) and Trey (Lewis) had. When they came to me, and they said to me 'Coach, we've never experienced the NCAA tournament, and Louisville has a record for going far. We just want the experience one time of playing in the tournament and seeing how far we can go.' And over the summer Damion kept this, that video you see before the game of 'Who's got my back?', he kept saying that over and over, and after the North Carolina win, they were screaming it in the locker room. And I just left them and spoke to Damion and Trey, who will be available to you at 6:00 tonight at our practice facility. I just spoke to both of them before we met with the team. And I realize, I continue to realize, how special they are, because it doesn't happen every day for a coach. As I told them the penalty, they all stood up and just started hugging Damion and Trey as they cried. And, you know, it's never easy for the people that don't deserve it. It happens all the time. This is not a team that wasn't going to make the tournament. This is a team that is very much favored to go very far in the tournament. So this penalty is quite substantial, much more, it comes with complete shock to me because I've been kept in the dark with all the things that Dr. Ramsey has gone through with his committee. And coaches are supposed to be kept in the dark, it wasn't anything on purpose. Coaches are supposed to be totally oblivious to anything that's going on when it comes to the investigation.
That being said, I've had my share of crying. And didn't want to go through it anymore, but this is certainly a night of extreme pain - last night especially, before telling them this. But as we move forward… I go through so many, being in this town, difficult times because Kentucky is part of the fabric of this community. And the fact that I coached at Kentucky for eight years, people always ask me what I remember most about my experiences. Was it the championship? Was it the three Final Fours? Was it the Christian Laettner loss? You know what I remember the most is when I got there some guy was living on a billboard for 30 days, until they hired a coach. And they said that 'this would be the nadir, the lowest point in Kentucky history. And the four guys that were left behind weren't very good. Probably not going to play for you, but that's all you got.' And I told those four guys 'Stop hanging your heads and get yourself into shape and get with it. It's not the end of the world. We'll survive. You'll survive and go through much worse than this.' But the thing I was blown away with, everything I've experienced there, for the next two years, even though that first year's team beat Shaquille O'Neal, Stanley Robinson, [and] Chris Jackson, the thing that was most amazing to me was we had the largest crowds in the history of Kentucky basketball, and this team wasn't going anywhere. And then the following year we won the SEC, although we couldn't be acknowledged or go to the tournament. And now this team…. The year after we lost that game to Christian Laettner at the buzzer, and those four guys who weren't very good, out of shape, their four names were put up to the rafters at Rupp, and they were known as 'The Unforgettables'. And the lesson that I lesson that I learned about that was the support for a difficult time from the fans.
See, Damion and Trey have nothing – nothing to look forward to future-wise right now. They were hit over the head with a sledgehammer, and they're devastated, as well as the rest of the team, for actions that they weren't involved with. They came here to go far in the tournament. They've done their job. They've captured the imagination of our fans. They've led a basketball team with an attitude second-to-none. The reason that I bring about that story of the largest crowds at Kentucky and the tremendous support those four kids got, was that the final four home games is all they have left. And it's up to our fans, our administration, and our university to lift them up as high as they can be lifted, along with the rest of the members of this basketball team who have just given me so much personal satisfaction and happiness. So I call for our fans to come out in the final four games in full force to honor not only Damion (Lee) and Trey (Lewis), but it's all we have left this season to look forward to. This is a punishment I thought would never happen this season. This is a decision that's as harsh as anything I have seen, but I'm a soldier in this army and I will go along Dr. Ramsey and certainly there is no one in life I have more respect for than Tom Jurich. So, we will go along with this and we will play the last nine games of the season as if they are the last nine games we'll ever play the game. I would like you to call to our fans to come out in full force tomorrow in support of these incredible young men and that is all I can ask for as the head basketball coach. Thank you."
(Has the university received a notice of allegations from the NCAA)
Chuck Smrt: "We cannot comment, unfortunately, on the status, timeline or any of the specific information. A case is not concluded until the Committee on Infractions issues a report. There has been no report issued in this case, therefore we cannot comment about any procedural items or where the status of the case is."
(Question inaudible)
Dr. James Ramsey: "We became aware of information that confirmed that we had violated NCAA rules and regulations. We said from the beginning we would conduct a thorough, complete, honest evaluation. The investigation, inquiry is still going on, but we know that we have committed a violation, so we are taking this action."
(On the decision process to take this action now, instead of waiting)
Dr. James Ramsey: "We looked at all the options. We looked at waiting. And Chuck (Smrt) can explain better, the penalty structure of the NCAA, but we believe that when you looked at everything, that self-imposing the penalty at this time was certainly in the best interest of the university and program. So Chuck (Smrt), you want to talk about the Level 1 and the different categories of penalties?"
Chuck Smrt: "The institution hasn't taken a position yet specifically on what I would call the classifications, the various classifications, but based upon the available information, the belief was the institution is in violation. So, then we looked at what the appropriate action to take was and we came out with the postseason ban. I think this is a very significant step for an institution when the case is not concluded. But it verifies what President Ramsey and Tom (Jurich) said early on, we are going to continually evaluate and assess the information and when we believe it rises to the level of a conclusion that a violation occurred, we are going to act and that is what they have done."
(On if the NCAA can impose higher penalties)
Chuck Smrt: "The case is not concluded. In any case, until the Committee on Infractions issues a report, there are always going to be continual assessment of information of penalties. So, the institution is going to continually assess what it has and what if anything needs to be undertaken."
(On whether this is the worst day as a head coach)
Rick Pitino: "Well without ranking bad days. I will say that speaking to the team and watching my players cry and hug Damion and Trey. It was pretty difficult."
(On whether they received new information yesterday from the report)
Tom Jurich: "No, the problem was brought to me yesterday. They have an investigative committee on campus that Dr. Ramsey heads up, I was not a part of that nor should I have been. I am like coach have pretty much been in the dark in this whole thing until there were some findings and we all said once we knew there were findings, we would act on them as quickly as possible and that is what our decision has been to be."
Chuck Smrt: "To this day coach Pitino nor Tom know the specifics of the investigation."
(On whether he will speak to the team regarding their decision)
James Ramsey: "If coach thinks that is the appropriate thing to do, I will be more than happy to."
(On whether there are any additional penalties or staff changes that will be made based on the new information)
James Ramsey: "No."
(Question inaudible)
Chuck Smrt: "Again that would be talking about the specifics of an ongoing inquiry."
(Question inaudible)
Chuck Smrt: "Unfortunately that would fall in that category."
(Question inaudible)
Chuck Smrt: "No and I appreciate your frustration but one of the disadvantages is when a school takes action while the inquiry is ongoing, again, it shows decisiveness. It shows showing the integrity of the institution. Unfortunately it also handcuffs the institution that can't talk about it. At some point though, this information will come out and you will be able to evaluate here is what the institution had at different points along the way and here is the actions that they have taken up. I understand the frustration that you don't have some of the information that is the basis for a decision. Unfortunately, since the institution acted so decisively at this time before the conclusion, we are bound by NCAA by-laws on what can be said."
(On whether this is an NCAA decision or not?)
Chuck Smrt: "This is an institutional decision."
(On whether there is anything the NCAA acts favorable on with self-imposed sanctions)
Chuck Smrt: "There is an expectation that the institution, or any institution, when it discovers a violation, it is supposed to take actions and the institution came to a conclusion that a violation had occurred and it is taking this action."
(On whether he believed this sanction could come down this season)
Rick Pitino: "A week ago after speaking with Tom, I didn't think that there was any possibility of that happening but like I said that Tom and I have been in the dark on this from day one. You know just to take you back a little bit, Chuck had a conversation with me when I first said absolutely I had no knowledge of any of this and by the way, when I said that, there is not a coach in division I, II, or III basketball who would have tolerated anything like that. So it is not just that I wouldn't tolerate, there is not one coach. The most sinister individual I have ever met in my life wouldn't tolerate anything that was being said so it was not a patronizing on my part. That being said, at that point in time I just came out and said I had absolutely no knowledge and then I said I couldn't find anyone who has any knowledge and Chuck said to me you can't say that. You can't go to a press conference with the ACC and say that because you are basically intimidating witnesses, how do you know that. Well I saw the point and that is why I didn't go because I can't just keep saying no comment, no comment, no comment, no comment, I think it is foolish because I am not that type of person. So not in my wildest dreams I would think this would happen. Like I said I have been giving them motivational things every single day, getting them ready for the tournament, getting them ready for the ACC tournament and preparing them game- by-game for something magical because I thought this was a magical group. You never know."
(Question inaudible)
Rick Pitino: "You know, I keep going back to where I didn't read the book and I thanked Eric a number of times for coming up with all the inaccuracies in 30 to 40 percent of the book. That being said, where there is smoke there is fire. Tim, I just can't fathom why – I just don't understand why in any of this, none of it makes sense. I understand why someone robs a bank, they want money. None of this, still to this day, makes any sense to me at all -any of the actions that went on. That is just the thing that I have had many sleepless nights over. I still can't figure out why."
(Question inaudible)
Rick Pitino: "Again, because everyone has kept me in the dark if I would ask questions. The only thing I did, was I went to the managers and said 'did you guys know of anything?' I went to my nephews and said 'did you guys see anything at all?' To the dorm person 'did you see anything at all?' I wanted to know how to correct a situation that I have to deal with – and I got a negative response. At that point Tom told me to just let the investigators do it. Just let it die completely and just coach the team. He kept saying just coach the team. I will handle everything else and that's what I did."
(Question inaudible)
Chuck Smrt: "The way it played out at this institution, as other institutions is that there is an investigative committee. The specific information provided during interviews is only provided to that group and its to protect the integrity of the investigation. What coach is talking about was when he heard initial information back in early August or September, not once the committee got up and running and everyone started communicating with the NCAA. What the institution is talking about is very common at most institutions that are going through a review."
(Question inaudible)
Tom Jurich: "We have not even looked at that Fred."
Dr. Ramsey: "Money was not an issue."
(whether one piece of information caused the need for immediate action)
Dr. Ramsey: "Money was not an issue. I cannot comment on that."
(Question inaudible)
Chuck Smrt: "It was a continual assessment. In these types of thing, you are continually assessing and evaluating information to come up with conclusions. It was based upon conversations yesterday, it seemed reasonable, that based upon all the information that a violation had occurred. And again, going back to the premise of the inquiry, we are going to get at the truth and once some information is discovered that a violation has occurred, an action will be taken. You can see that this happened within 24 hours."
(Question inaudible)
Rick Pitino: "You know it is obviously … I had second thoughts but I put all my faith in Tom (Jurich). We are not only great friends but my respect for him - he has far more - this is his job. If we made any mistakes, it was to keep him in the dark. It is okay to keep me in the dark. But, I respect him. I believe in him and although it is very difficult time, he is the leader of our university and I have all my faith in him – that the right thing is being done. I have the tough job ahead and that is why I called for the fans to get behind these guys and give them a good going away party. I totally have great faith in Tom. Dr. Ramsey gets paid to make a lot of tough decisions with this university in mind and with the benefit of the university in mind. It is not for me to second guess anybody. Like I said, I am a soldier in this army and I do what the generals say. I believe in the generals here. I believe in what they - it is tough to say we have all this integrity. It is tough to say that we do all things the right way, when this has gone on. But I believe from the bottom of my heart that we stand for great integrity. We stand for academic excellence. We stand for the student athlete for doing the right things. If I catch anybody doing the wrong thing there are always huge consequences to pay. I have done that for over 41 years. Unfortunately, we are going to have to go through this and this team, who is absolutely innocent, will have to go through it. But I will get those guys through it. I got those Kentucky guys through it. I will get this group through it."
E. Carchia
@Sportando
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