Memphis Tigers stripped of 38 Win Season

It appears as if history is repeating itself with John Calipari as his 2007-2008 Memphis Tigers team has been stripped of all 38 wins and its Final Four and National Title game appearances by the NCAA because of its use of an ineligible player.

A similar situation unfolded at one of Calipari’s earlier coaching stops as his 1996 UMass Minutemen team was stripped of its Final Four appearance after its star player, future NBA center Marcus Camby, was found to have taken cash payments.

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Memphis president Shirley Raines said that the school would appeal the ruling handed down by the NCAA.

The 2007-2008 Memphis Tigers basketball team set the NCAA record for wins in a season, finishing 38-2 and losing to Kansas in a closely contested championship game.

Evidence in the case from CBS Sportsline.com indicates that Derrick Rose, the Chicago Bulls’ second-year star and the 2008-2009 NBA Rookie of the Year, is most likely the player who was named in the report.

The ineligible player was accused of having another person take his SAT exam for him so he could be assured of freshman eligibility for the Tigers. Memphis first heard of the allegations in November 2007 but determined that there wasn’t enough information to warrant benching the player.

Memphis also reportedly will be punished by having to return the money it received during the NCAA Tournament run to Conference USA and will be prevented from receiving future payments from revenue-sharing through the conference.

The committee also said the ineligible player’s brother received free transportation on Memphis’ charter plane and free stays at hotels during the 38-win season as well, and Memphis had no explanation as to why it was allowed, making it an impermissible extra benefit.

Calipari is now the head coach at Kentucky but the school appears to be sticking by him as he hasn’t officially been charged with any improprieties through the NCAA.

Memphis also was forced to vacate their 1985 Final Four appearance as well.

While the odds are that Calipari will have a successful run at Kentucky, the school will now undoubtedly keep a focused eye on him at all times to ensure that the Wildcats, which were hurt by scandals in the early 90’s, can avoid the same problems that seem to follow Calipari around from program to program.