Louisville Responds to NCAA's Amended Notice of Allegations

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville has officially filed their response to the NCAA's amended Notice of Allegations levied against the men's basketball program.

Originally served in May of 2020 before getting amended this past October, the NOA combines allegations stemming from the recruitment of Brian Bowen Jr. and allegations against former head coach Chris Mack. In total, UofL is facing one Level I allegation and six Level II allegations

Unsurprisingly, the university is fighting the NCAA on all seven allegations presented in the amended NOA. Like in their response to the original NOA, UofL reiterated that they were "victim of the conspiracy, not a participant in it," and that the panel "should reject the CCU’s dramatically overbroad theory."

Three Level II violations are alleged to have occurred under Mack. One is regarding the use of graduate assistant in practice, another involves the production of impermissible recruiting videos, and the final states that Mack "failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance" due to his involvement in the prior two violations.

Louisville says that the first two violations should be "categorized as Level III." They believe that the use of grad assistants in practice "was limited in nature and demonstrated a misunderstanding of the rules," and that the recruiting videos "did not provide any more than a minimal recruiting advantage."

As a result, they also argue that a head coach responsibility charge against Mack - the final additional Level II allegation - "is not warranted in this case."

Louisville did not change their stance on the four allegations tied to Bowen's recruitment. They believe that the Level I violation "should be characterized as a Level II violation", one Level II violation "should be categorized as Level III" and are outright fighting their other two Level II violations.

The NCAA now has 60 days to respond, putting the deadline on May 20. Louisville is set to have a hearing with the IARP on June 17-19.

The university's 146-page redacted response, obtained by the Courier-Journal through an open record request, can be viewed here.

(Photo of Grawmeyer Hall via the Lexington Herald-Leader)

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