Memphis must vacate 38 wins from its 2007-08 season in which the Tigers were only a few minutes away from winning the championship before folding to Kansas, according to ESPN.com’s Dana O’Neill. The NCAA handed down the penalty to punish the program for major violations related to a fraudulent SAT score by Derrick Rose and improper travel payments to Rose’s brother.
However, the penalties will not affect the current Tiger team.
A source said the current Memphis program will not be penalized and will escape a postseason ban or loss of scholarships.
According to charges levied by the NCAA Infractions Committee in May, Memphis and coach John Calipari knew of “fraudulence or misconduct” related to Rose. The Educational Testing Service started examining Rose’s high SAT score, which jumped significantly from previous results, in March 2008 during the NCAA Tournament. The organization rejected the score in May 2008.
In the university’s response to those charges, the school said Calipari and Memphis officials did not learn about Rose’s invalidated SAT until after the 2007-08 season when the Educational Testing Service issued its rejection. However, Memphis officials knew in October 2007 that the Chicago Public Schools system was investigating other charges involving Rose, specifically involving charges that someone changed his grades.
The reverberations of the NCAA’s decision will resonate throughout Tennessee and Kentucky, where Calipari is now coach of the Wildcats. Calipari did not provide much opinion to ESPN.com when questioned today.
Calipari, appearing at the Kentucky State Fair on Thursday, had no comment because the report had not been officially released, but did say he would be “disappointed” if Memphis was stripped of its trip to the Final Four.
“We don’t know anything, because I’m not going to comment because I have to wait on the finding,” Calipari said. “I would be disappointed if that’s what they chose to do.”
Meanwhile, high-level state officials, including Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart, have publicly supported Calipari. Beshear spoke today at the Kentucky State Fair, while Barnhart backed his coach when questioned by the Associated Press last week.
“I’m not worried about it because they have never said Coach Cal did anything wrong at all,” Beshear said. “I think he’s a very upstanding guy. I think that’s his reputation and I think that reputation will be with him here. I really don’t foresee any problems.”
“There’s one thing John says: ‘I want my banners to count for something and I want to put the rings on the fingers and let them stay there,’ ” Barnhart said. “That’s important to him, and so he is embracing any help that we give him to make sure we’re able to, at the end of the day, not have to look over our shoulders and worry.”
