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U of L Athletic Board Votes To Begin Process Of Firing Pitino

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The governing body of University of Louisville athletics has given Interim President Greg Postel the go-ahead to begin termination proceedings against men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino.

The U of L Athletic Association unanimously approved the motion after meeting behind closed doors for about two hours Monday.

Pitino was placed on unpaid leave last week after he was implicated in a federal investigation into the alleged bribery of high school recruits.

Assistant Coach David Padgett was named interim coach last week.

Postel spoke to reporters after Monday’s meeting.

“The board requested of me and authorized me to initiate the process of termination for cause as defined in coach Pitino’s employment contract,” he said.

Postel said he hopes to announce the appointment of an interim athletic director by Tuesday afternoon to take over the duties of Tom Jurich, who is on paid leave as a result of the federal probe.

Postel has said Jurich’s status will be taken up by the board of trustees on October 19.

This school’s board of trustees met in executive session for about two hours Monday morning, presumably to discuss the athletic director position, but took no action.

Some U of L faculty attended Monday’s board meeting to voice their frustrations with the university’s decision to search for the school’s next president confidentially.

Faculty lined the wall of the meeting room with signs, including slogans like “Governance, yes. Secrecy, no,” “Faculty Voices Matter,” and “No Ramsey 2.0.”

Board of trustees chair David Grissom attempted to allay concerns at a previous board meeting, saying “listening tours” would gather public opinion on the search this month.

He also said board representatives will have input in the search.

Rick has been a member of the WFPL News team since 2001 and has covered numerous beats and events over the years. Most recently he’s been tracking the Indiana General Assembly and the region’s passion for sports, especially college basketball.
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