Mark Story: UK’s rivals in turmoil — U of L, UNC and UT all embroiled in scandal

For those with a case of Big Blue schadenfreude, these are sunny times.

Three universities that have always stirred the rivalry passions of Kentucky backers — Louisville, North Carolina and Tennessee — are embroiled in embarrassing scandals.

At U of L, the alleged issue is prostitutes used as a men’s basketball recruiting tool. For UNC, it is almost two decades of academic fraud to keep athletes eligible.

Tennessee could be — emphasis on could — the most grave of all. A Title IX lawsuit filed this month against UT on behalf of eight women claims the university created a “hostile environment” by not properly handling accusations of sexual assault allegedly committed by Volunteers athletes.

While reminding UK backers that excessive schadenfreude — a feeling of enjoyment that comes from seeing the trouble of others — can yield bad karma, let’s examine what the ramifications of all three scandals could be:

Louisville

Teller of unpopular truths: In her book Breaking Cardinal Rules: Basketball and The Escort Queen, Katina Powell claimed that former Louisville Director of Basketball Operations Andre McGee paid her more than $10,000 to provide “dancers/escorts” for 22 shows for U of L men’s hoops players and/or recruits from 2010-2014.

The ramifications so far: The NCAA is investigating the claims made by Powell. A Jefferson County grand jury has been impaneled to hear evidence in the case. Louisville this month self-imposed an NCAA Tournament ban on its (very good) men’s basketball team for 2016.

Questions still to be answered: 1.) If McGee really provided in excess of $10,000 for the sex shows, what was the source of that money? 2.) Who is the “Coach Mike” that Powell alleges paid her for a final “show” after McGee left U of L for another job? 3.) What did the university find out about the scandal that led it to self-impose a tournament ban so late in this season?

Context that makes the scandal especially damaging: Louisville’s athletics department was already no stranger to sex scandals. Rick Pitino/Karen Sypher. Bobby Petrino/Jessica Dorrell/the motorcycle at Arkansas. Just last week, former Cardinals football coach Charlie Strong was mentioned in a provocative manner in an affidavit filed in the divorce suit of prominent Louisville booster Jonathan Blue and his wife, Tracy.

Meanwhile, U of L has been mired in seemingly non-stop financial scandal outside of sports. The FBI is said to be investigating two former high-ranking university officials for possibly misappropriating federal grant money. From 2008-2014, University of Louisville employees were accused of mishandling at least $7.6 million, according to The Courier-Journal.

Person whose job could be in the most jeopardy: I do not think U of L Athletics Director Tom Jurich will fire Pitino, but many think Ricky P. may choose to coach elsewhere next season. With so much turmoil across the campus, Louisville President James Ramsey would seem to be on the shakiest ground.

North Carolina

Teller of unpopular truths: Former North Carolina academic counselor Mary Willingham was a primary whistle-blower in revealing that UNC had been steering some athletes into sham independent studies courses from 1993-2011.

The ramifications so far: A UNC-commissioned report revealed that more than 3,100 students — roughly 1,500 of whom were athletes — had been enrolled in “paper classes” in what was then the African and Afro-American Studies Department. The Raleigh News & Observer reported that Tar Heels’ men’s basketball players were responsible for 230 of those enrollments, including 54 from 1993-97 under iconic basketball coach Dean Smith. On UNC’s 2005 NCAA championship team, 10 players were African and Afro-American Studies majors.

Questions still to be answered: Is the NCAA ever going to rule in the North Carolina case? Last summer, the college sports governing body issued a notice of allegations to North Carolina that included the charge of lack of institutional control. Subsequently, the university informed the NCAA it had found additional evidence of wrongdoing. According to the New York Times, the NCAA is thought to be developing a new set of allegations to reflect the new information.

Context that makes the scandal especially damaging: For decades, UNC boasted of “The Carolina Way” — the claim that North Carolina exemplified the ideal mix of academic and athletic success. Since the “paper class” scandal, “The Carolina Way” is a punch line.

Person whose job could be in the most jeopardy: No coaches were flagged in the NCAA’s original notice of allegations. Roy Williams, 65, says he will not retire until he is confident he would be leaving Tar Heels men’s basketball on solid footing.

Tennessee

Teller of unpopular truths: A memo written in 2013 by then-Tennessee Vice-Chancellor Tim Rogers was leaked last year to The Tennesseean, the Nashville newspaper. Rogers wrote there were “an inordinate number of disciplinary cases” at UT “involving athletes” and that the Tennessee athletics department exercised “undue influence” that “diminishes or eliminates the independence of thought and action necessary for unbiased review” of disciplinary cases involving Volunteers athletes.

The ramifications so far: A Title IX lawsuit was filed this month against Tennessee on behalf of eight women alleging they were the victims of sexual assaults perpetrated by UT athletes.

Questions still to be answered: Many. The legal filing in the Title IX case alleges that Tennessee football coach Butch Jones told former UT wide receiver Drae Bowles he was a “traitor to the team” because the player helped a woman after she was allegedly raped by two Vols football players. Jones vehemently denies saying that. Who is telling the truth?

Context that makes the scandal especially damaging: There was already a sharp focus on how women were being treated in UT athletics. Until 2011, Tennessee had separate athletics departments for its men’s and women’s teams. Since UT combined them, there have been lawsuits from former employees of the women’s athletics department claiming they were unfairly treated during and after the merger. The decision to have all women’s teams other than basketball stop using the “Lady Vols” nickname also left a lot of bad feelings.

Person whose job could be in the most jeopardy: Butch Jones (see above). But a lot of the long knives in Knoxville seem to be out for Athletics Director Dave Hart Jr., who presided over the combining of the men’s and women’s athletics departments.

This story was originally published February 27, 2016 at 5:24 PM with the headline "Mark Story: UK’s rivals in turmoil — U of L, UNC and UT all embroiled in scandal."