The Louisville basketball program has avoided any major punishment after the conclusion of a five-year Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP) investigation.
The most serious allegation that was looked into during this investigation was the alleged recruiting violations committed by former head coach Rick Pitino when recruiting five-star prospect Brian Bowen.
In response to this controversy, Louisville was stripped of 123 wins and the 2013 NCAA Championship. After the result of today’s investigation, Pitino believes that 2013 banner will one day hang again.
“You don’t take championships away,” Pitino said, per Saturday Down South. “You can’t rewrite history. We won the championship. No, we did not use steroids. We did not steal signs. We did not do anything illegal to gain an advantage of the game of basketball. We beat Michigan with great defense — an outstanding, well-coached Michigan team. We beat Wichita State — an outstanding, well-coached team — with hard work ethic, great defense, unselfish offense, and my players should be commended. They are champions. You can’t take that away from them.”
The program did not receive any postseason ban. Pitino and fellow former head coach Chris Mack avoided punishment altogether.
Pitino is heading into his third season as the head coach of Iona.