Rick Pitino, Tom Jurich placed on administrative leave due to FBI investigation

Charges of corruption and fraud could see both the Louisville men's basketball coach and athletic director potentially out of work soon.

Rick Pitino, Tom Jurich placed on administrative leave due to FBI investigation
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By Noel John Alberto

Louisville men's head basketball coach Rick Pitino has been placed on administrative leave due to the ongoing FBI investigation that has started due to corruption and fraud charges within the NCAA

Pitino's administrative leave is unpaid while Tom Jurich, the athletic director, is on paid administrative leave. Greg Postel, interim president of the university, said that the school is working quickly to name both an interim head coach and athletic director with each possibly being named within the next 48 hours. 

The Board of Trustees will be the ones who make the call on whether or not Pitino and Jurich will be out of jobs. Their decision will come no later than their next Trustees meeting which is October 18.

2013 provided much happier times for Pitino who coached the Cardinals to the National Championship (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
2013 provided much happier times for Pitino who coached the Cardinals to the National Championship (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Charges Aplenty

On Tuesday, 10 people were charged with corruption and fraud including James Gatto, director of global sports marketing for Adidas, and Merl Code, an Adidas employee. The allegations against Lousiville were that the school received payments up to $100,000 to get a player to sign with the team and that the money was funneled by Code, Gatto, Christian Dawkins (former NBA player and sports agent), and Munich Sood (a financial adviser) to the family of the player with the okay given by Pitino. 

Another Scandal

This is the third scandal that has hit Rick Pitino in recent time at Louisville. In 2010, Pitino testified in a trial against Karen Sypher. She went to prison for trying to extort money and gifts from the 65-year-old in exchange for silence.

In 2015, the NCAA launched an investigation into a sex-for-pay scandal which was organized by former Louisville assistant Andre McGee. Pitino has been suspended the first five ACC games of the season for this scandal and could even see the team's 2013 National Championship vacated. 

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About the author
Noel John Alberto
Filipino-American sports journalist from Toms River, NJ. UMBC Graduate and aspiring physical therapist. Tennis editor and multi-sport coordinator for VAVEL USA. Writer for Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Serie A sections of VAVEL UK. Sports aficionado. Host of the On The Line tennis podcast.