It’s official: Pitino’s all done at Louisville
Rick Pitino has been able to roam the sidelines as Louisville’s iconic men’s basketball coach, even defiantly at times, holding onto his job amid a series of highly embarrassing missteps off the court.
Things looked bleak this time around, with a seemingly inevitable departure looming in the weeks since the latest scandal became public. But even after the school was linked to a federal bribery investigation , no one completely counted Pitino out. Not until yesterday.
The university had seen enough and decided to finally cut ties with the Hall of Famer.
The decision was unanimous. Louisville’s Athletic Association officially fired Pitino, nearly three weeks after the school acknowledged that Pitino’s program is being investigated as part of a federal corruption probe.
The association, which oversees Louisville’s sports programs and is composed of trustees, faculty, students and administrators, voted unanimously to oust the longtime Cardinals coach following a board meeting. The ULAA even heard from Pitino’s attorney, Steve Pence, who made the case that his client “could not have known” about activities alleged in the federal investigation.
Pitino has $44 million remaining in salary and bonuses in a contract extension through 2025-26. He was scheduled to earn a base salary of $5.1 million.
Pence said in a text to The Associated Press the decision was “disappointing but not unexpected.”
The move officially ended Pitino’s 16-year tenure with the program, a run in which he compiled a 416143 record — including 25-9 last season and winning the 2013 NCAA championship. But his success on the court was tarnished by off-court incidents . . . .
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Weah’s first goal was the only score of the first half. Andrew Carleton and captain Josh Sargent were also on target in the second to set up a quarterfinal against England or Japan.
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