The Special Committee of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges Special Committee has issued a draft report after visiting campus Sept. 19-21 to review the university’s compliance with SACS’ Principles of Accreditation. .

The committee reports that UofL is in compliance with Core Requirement 2.2, which relates to its governing board, and with comprehensive standards related to CEO evaluation/selection, conflict of interest, external influence, board dismissal, financial stability and control of finances.

The committee provided specific recommendations to ensure the university complies with two other issues in the Principles of Accreditation. It suggested the university sign a memorandum of understanding to clarify its relationship with the University of Louisville Real Estate Foundation, Inc., and it raised questions about the number of interim senior appointments in the university’s central administration. 

UofL Interim President Greg Postel said the university will quickly create the memorandum of understanding. UofL’s administration currently is conducting searches to fill several of the leadership positions.

Also in the document, the SACS committee applauded the “extraordinary cooperation that the institution showed” during the visit, and that it stated the university “currently operates with integrity.”

The university is expected to respond to the draft by early November. The organization will rule on the university’s probationary status at its national meeting in December.

The probation focuses specifically on issues related to the Board of Trustees, including its membership, selection and evaluation of the university president, external influence and Board of Trustees dismissal.

“While we are disappointed, it is important to note that this in no way reflects on the quality of our curriculum or our core academic strengths,” said Acting President Neville Pinto. “It focuses solely on issues related to governance of the institution. The commission’s decision to impose probation does not affect degrees, federal funding (including financial aid available to students), or research grants awarded to faculty.”

A SACS committee will visit the university in fall 2017. At that time, UofL will have the chance to show it has addressed the issues for which it was placed on probation.

“The University of Louisville continues to be accredited,” Pinto said. “We are a strong institution with a great track record of demonstrating compliance in all areas of review by SACSCOC … We have much to be proud of, and we will do all that we can to meet the challenges set forth by SACSCOC.”

See related video below. 

Below is a joint statement from Acting President Dr. Neville Pinto and Vice President/Director of Athletics Tom Jurich:

“As parents and university leaders who care about every student who comes to the University of Louisville, we are heartbroken that inappropriate behavior took place here. It saddens us tremendously. We promised that if something was done wrong, we would be open about it, acknowledge it, and correct it.

From the beginning, no one wanted to know the truth more than UofL and that’s why we immediately notified the NCAA Enforcement Staff and worked diligently with them to determine what took place. It’s why we retained NCAA consultant Chuck Smrt and outside counsel Steve Thompson to determine the facts.

We are now in receipt of the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations (NOA). This is the next step in a process that will end with our appearance before the Committee on Infractions in the spring of 2017.  We have 90 days to determine our specific position on each allegation and prepare a written response.

From the start, the NCAA Enforcement Staff had our full cooperation. Its staff and our investigators spoke to numerous Louisville employees and third parties, and the university produced every document requested by the NCAA. We are disappointed that former Director of Basketball Operations Andre McGee did not cooperate.

These allegations underscore why it was appropriate for the university to self-impose strict penalties on our basketball program earlier this year.  

The NOA aligns with the results of our inquiry: improper activities took place in a dormitory that never should have occurred. When the facts were established, we acted. We took appropriate punitive and corrective actions. The penalties we imposed were among the most severe penalties ever self-imposed by a NCAA member.  

It is important to note what is not being alleged. The NOA does not contain an allegation that Coach Pitino had knowledge of what took place in the dormitory. The NCAA does not allege a ‘lack of institutional control’ at Louisville, a very severe allegation. The NCAA does not allege that there was a ‘failure to monitor’ against the institution, also a severe allegation. The NCAA does not allege that Coach Pitino failed to ‘promote an atmosphere of compliance’, a serious allegation. The NOA does contain a narrower allegation – which we will dispute – that Coach Pitino failed to demonstrate that he monitored Mr. McGee. 

We believe that Mr. McGee acted furtively and note that the NOA does not indicate that any other university employee besides Mr. McGee had knowledge of these activities. We are confident in Coach Pitino and we know he is and always has been committed to NCAA compliance.

The entire episode is a deep disappointment to all of us who love this university. We appreciate the NCAA’s efforts and we regret tremendously that this took place. Everyone who works here knows it can never happen again. We will continue to work cooperatively with the NCAA for the final resolution of this matter.”