http://www.kernel.uky.edu/sportsdaily/hoops98/page02a.html
From the late 80's...
"Kentucky's Shame."
Two little words with big implications for the UK men's basketball program. They were the words that branded the cover of the Sports Illustrated that outlined the 17 NCAA violations facing head coach Eddie Sutton and the 1988-89 Cats.
Two little words that summed up a March 31, 1988 delivery of $1,000 in $50 bills and a videotape to the father of then-UK recruit Chris Mills. UK assistant coach Dwane Casey was listed as the sender.
Two little words that summed up the academic fraud of Eric Manuel, another recruit, who took a college entrance exam at Lafayette High School and allegedly cheated off a nearby student. The NCAA report found that 211 of their 219 answers (right and wrong) were the same.
Two little words that summed up a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative series by the Lexington Herald-Leader a few years before that, which exposed widespread corruption in the program, including boosters' "$100 handshakes" with UK star players, to free meals and other perks.
At the time, the NCAA's investigators failed to develop enough evidence to prosecute. UK was, however, cited for a lack of cooperation.
http://sportifi.com/news/College-Basketball-The-25-Sketchiest-Programs-in-Hoops-History-405659.html
The Kentucky Wildcats have a rap sheet almost as prolific as their successes. Historically, the team has had teams that have proven to be somewhat shady.
It all started under Adolph Rupp (pictured). In 1949, Kentucky was the most feared team in the nation and went on to win the NCAA championship.
However, they had two suspicious losses, one to Saint Louis and one to Loyola. Later, three players including two All-Americans (Alex Groza and Ralph Beard) admitted to throwing the Loyola game. They were subsequently banned from the pro league forever.
Two years later, in 1951, center Bill Spivey was accused of shaving points, right after coach Rupp said: "Gamblers couldn't touch my boys with a 10-foot pole."
Spivey claimed innocence before a grand jury and was charged with lying under oath. He didn't get convicted, but the NBA prohibited Spivey from ever playing. Sportswriters soon sent Rupp an 11-foot pole after the scandal broke.
After two scandals in three years, Kentucky became the first team to get the "death penalty" and were banned from play during the entire 1952-53 season.
Many years later, in 1989, head coach Eddie Sutton was implicated in another scandal regarding the paying of recruits. His assistant coach had sent $1,000 to the father of freshman Chris Mills and Kentucky was already under probation.
The NCAA considered another "death penalty" ruling, but instead Eddie Sutton and athletic director Cliff Sutton were forced to resign and the Wildcats got three years of probation and a two-year ban on postseason play.
There haven't been any other sanctions on Kentucky since then, but the hiring of John Calipari has me sitting on the edge of my seat.
With his record, it may not be long before something happens in Lexington. Technically, none of the things he's done in the past have been his fault, but lots of things have gone on under his watch, so it wouldn't surprise me if something else did.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/andy_staples/06/02/calipari.bledsoe/index.html
But things are not good for Calipari, who may be due for some good karma after donating $1 million to the Streets Ministries organization in Memphis. The banner commemorating his 1996 Final Four appearance at UMass is in mothballs because an NCAA investigation determined Marcus Camby took money from an agent. Ditto for the banner commemorating his 2008 Final Four appearance at Memphis because an NCAA investigation determined someone took the SAT for star guard Derrick Rose. Now NCAA investigators are sniffing around Bledsoe's hometown of Birmingham, Ala., asking who paid the rent for Bledsoe and his mother and how Bledsoe made such a miraculous academic leap from his junior to his senior year.
Bledsoe, who went one-and-done along with fellow Wildcats freshmen John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Daniel Orton, doesn't have to cooperate with any investigation. He can keep his mouth shut and enjoy his NBA money, and there isn't a thing the NCAA can do about it. If Bledsoe could discern the identity of the person who leaked his transcript to the Times, he'd have a lawsuit, but he'd be a fool to file one. That would require under-oath depositions that allow attorneys wide latitude in their lines of questioning. NCAA investigators would gobble up those transcripts.
