UK will reflect vacated wins in Caliparis career total
The University of Kentucky on Thursday conceded to the NCAA that it was in error in commemorating coach John Calipari's 500th career win during the 2010-11 basketball season.
That admission came at the insistence of the NCAA, which initially expressed its concerns about Calipari's career record in a letter to UK president Lee Todd on March 15.
Calipari was honored for his 500th career win after Kentucky beat Florida on Feb. 26. But that win total did not reflect 42 victories at Massachusetts and Memphis that were later vacated for NCAA rules violations.
Though Calipari was not found to have personally violated NCAA rules in either case, both schools used an ineligible player, leading the NCAA to vacate wins. Those vacated wins are to be reflected in Calipari's career win totals, according to the NCAA.
On Thursday, UK issued this statement: "After consulting with the NCAA, the University of Kentucky has been informed that the honoring of our head men's basketball coach for his 500th career victory on Feb. 26, 2011 was in error and that, henceforth, we will reflect our head men's basketball coach's career record in our media guides, Internet sites and other publications consistent with the NCAA's official records and statistics."
Calipari is officially recognized as having 467 career wins in college basketball.
Attached are documents, acquired via open-records request, that detail the timeline of events in the case: