Kentucky Gets Only a Reprimand From NCAA

An investigation into the University of Kentucky’s basketball program, triggered by a series of investigative articles that were awarded a Pulitzer Prize, produced no proof of wrongdoing, the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. said Thursday.

In the official finding of the Committee on Infractions, Kentucky is publicly reprimanded for not fully cooperating with the long investigation and ordered to monitor athletic expenditures and report their results to the NCAA for the next three years. Much harsher penalties had been expected.

The Lexington Herald-Leader won the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 for its stories detailing corruption in the Kentucky program, one of the most successful in collegiate history. The newspaper articles quoted former players as saying that Kentucky basketball recruits received cash, clothing and other extravagent gifts in a consistent pattern of abuse dating back to the early 1970s.

“Everyone is frustrated,” David Berst, NCAA director of enforcement, told The Associated Press. He said there were 33 individuals quoted in the articles, and in a joint investigation by the NCAA and the school, only one person said they were quoted correctly.

Berst said 17 people were intervied by the NCAA and the others by the school. He said several of the 33 refused to talk to NCAA or Kentucky officials.

He said his repeated requests to examine the newspaper’s tapes or notes or to interview the reporters were denied.