Here are the conditions of the UK football and swimming programs’ two-year probation
When the NCAA announced a week ago that the UK football and swimming and diving programs had been placed on two years of probation as part of a negotiated settlement with the university resulting from rules violations, there were few details about what exactly that probation entailed.
The football program had to vacate its 10 wins from the 2021 season as a result of eight ineligible players playing after being paid for hours they did not work at university hospital jobs, but the NCAA did not assess any scholarship limitations or impose a postseason bowl ban.
So, what are the terms of the two-year probation? The Herald-Leader obtained the full settlement agreement through the state’s open records law to find out.
Here is what you need to know.
What rules violations happened in the football program?
As first reported by the Herald-Leader in 2022, at least 11 football players were found by a UK investigation to have filed time cards for their university hospital patient transport jobs for hours they did not actually work. The jobs had been cleared by the compliance department, but the players still had to work for any hours they were paid, per NCAA rules.
According to the settlement agreement the resulting excess payments ranged from $254 to $13,631 per athlete and totaled approximately $48,940. Four of the athletes still on the team in 2022 were held out of competition by the school until their eligibility was reinstated. Four other athletes found to have filed incorrect time cards had transferred to other universities by that time.
UK has not revealed the names of the involved athletes, citing student privacy laws, but the department did confirm running back Chris Rodriguez and outside linebacker Jordan Wright were among the players held out of 2022 games due to an eligibility issue.
What rules violations happened in the swimming program?
From at least August 2022 to May 2023, head coach Lars Jorgensen and his staff directed swimmers to participate in practice time beyond the NCAA limits. While the workouts were described as voluntary, the school and NCAA agreed they qualified as “countable athletically related activity” because coaching staff conducted the workouts and the athletes did not initiate or request the activities. The staff exceeded allowed practice time by at least 96 hours each year and failed to provide 37 required days off to athletes.
UK and the NCAA enforcement staff determined during that time period “the institution violated the NCAA principle of rules compliance when it failed to adequately monitor its men’s and women’s swimming and diving program to ensure compliance with applicable NCAA legislation.”
The individual case against Jorgensen for NCAA rules violations is ongoing as he did not agree to the settlement terms. The NCAA case is separate from a lawsuit filed against Jorgensen, athletics director Mitch Barnhart, former coach Gary Conelly and the university detailing sexual assault allegations against Jorgensen.
What penalties did Kentucky self impose?
Prior to the settlement agreement with the NCAA, UK had already imposed several punishments for the violations, which it self-reported.
The hospital suspended and terminated the employment of all athletes in the patient transport department with no eligibility for rehire. The university barred athletes from working in UK Healthcare unless there was a specific academic reason for their employment. The hospital supervisor over the transport jobs was fired for “inappropriate or unsuitable job performance and/or gross negligence of oversight.” UK held four athletes from competition in 2022 until their eligibility was reinstated by the NCAA.
UK suspended Jorgensen in May 2023 and later negotiated a resignation agreement that paid Jorgensen $75,000. The swimming and diving program’s 2022-23 playing season was reduced from 144 to 132 days, and two flex days were added for athletes. Jorgensen was suspended from one competition that season. UK imposed a ban on swimming and diving practice time for the first two weeks of the 2023 fall term and one additional week after the completion of the season. The 2023-24 season was reduced from 144 to 130 days and 10 flex days were added for athletes.
The athletics department also provided additional rules education on practice time regulations to the swimming and diving coaching staff.
How much was UK fined by the NCAA?
Per the terms of the settlement agreement, UK will pay a $5,000 self-imposed fine in addition to a fine equivalent to 10% of the gross payout received from the Southeastern Conference for participating in the 2022 Citrus Bowl, in which ineligible football players appeared. According to the athletic department’s 2022 financial report, the school received $8.6 million in bowl revenue that year. A 10% fine would be worth $860,042.80.
What additional penalties were issued by the NCAA?
UK will ban swimming and diving practice time for the first week of the 2024 fall term, reduce the 2024-25 season from 144 to 138 days and add 10 flex days for athletes.
The parties agreed to a public reprimand and censure through the announcement of the resolution agreement. The football team had to vacate any wins in which the ineligible players appeared.
What records did the football team have to vacate?
UK vacated all 10 wins from the 2021 season since eight ineligible players were found to have played in the 13 games that season. The Citrus Bowl (played on Jan. 1, 2022) win over Iowa was one of the vacated victories.
According to the settlement agreement obtained by the Herald-Leader, UK must also vacate individual records of the ineligible student-athletes who played in the 2021 season. That ruling would vacate Rodriguez’s 1,379 rushing yards that season, which previously ranked fifth on Kentucky’s single-season rushing records list. Rodriguez would also drop out of the top 10 on UK’s career scoring list and drop from third (3,644) to 10th (2,265) on the program’s career rushing yards list. Rodriguez’s UK record for most 100-yard games in a season (nine) from 2021 would also be vacated. He would drop from first (20) to a tie for fifth (11) in UK’s career 100-yard rushing performance list.
Individual awards for the involved athletes are not vacated by the settlement, meaning Rodriguez would retain his first-team All-SEC honors from the Associated Press for the 2021 season.
While no UK football coach or athletics administrator was found to have known about the rules violations, the vacated wins must be reflected in coach Mark Stoops’ record, which falls from 73-65 to 63-65. Any UK publications listing Stoops’ record or the program’s overall record must reflect the vacated wins total. If Stoops leaves UK for another job, his future employer would also have to list his record without the vacated wins.
UK must remove any reference to the vacated records from “athletics department stationary, banners displayed in public areas and any other forum in which they may appear.” The settlement requires any trophies awarded by the NCAA for vacated games to be returned, but the NCAA does not administer bowl games. As of Tuesday morning, the 2022 Citrus Bowl trophy remained displayed in UK’s practice facility lobby.
What are the conditions of the two-year probation?
Per the settlement agreement obtained by the Herald-Leader:
UK must continue to develop and implement a comprehensive educational program on NCAA legislation for coaches, faculty athletics representatives and all athletics department personnel and university staff members responsible for recruiting and certification legislation.
UK must submit a preliminary report to the committee on infractions outlining a schedule for establishing the compliance and educational program.
UK must file annual compliance reports with the committee on infractions indicating progress made with the educational program.
UK must inform all football and swimming and diving recruits in writing that the institution is on probation for two years and detail the violations committed. That information must be provided before any prospect takes a paid official visit to campus. If a prospect does not take an official visit to UK, the information must be provided before the prospect signs a National Letter of Intent.
UK must publicize the specific information concerning the nature of infractions. That publication must include at least a statement outlining the types of violations and the affected programs through a “direct, conspicuous link” to the infractions decision on the athletic department’s main website. It must also be included in the media guides for the football and swimming and diving programs.
After the receipt of the final compliance report prior to the conclusion of probation, the university president must provide a letter to the committee of infractions affirming UK’s current athletics policies and practices “conform to all requirements of NCAA regulations.”