Louisville men’s basketball coach Chris Mack has been suspended without pay for six games in November, the university announced Friday.
U of L’s release came less than an hour before former assistant coach Dino Gaudio was set for sentencing in his federal extortion case.
“The University concluded that while Mack was a victim of an extortion attempt by former assistant coach Dino Gaudio, Mack failed to follow University guidelines, policies, and procedures in handling the matter. The sanctions imposed upon Coach Mack are unrelated to the extortion attempt itself and the ongoing NCAA process,” the statement read.
U.S. District Judge Benjamin Beaton on Friday sentenced former Louisville assistant basketball coach Dino Gaudio to 1 year probation, the minimum, plus a $10,000 fine and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee a little more than 2 months after Gaudio pleaded guilty to one count of interstate communication with the intent to extort.
Gaudio entered a guilty plea June 4 at the Gene Snyder Federal Courthouse after being charged in May by Michael Bennett, the acting U.S. Attorney for the District Court of Western Kentucky, after Louisville’s basketball season ended.
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Mack will miss nonconference games from Nov. 8-27, including two in the Bahamas. During the suspension, the fourth-year coach “is prohibited from having any contact with the men’s basketball coaching staff or student-athletes.”
He will forfeit approximately $221,000 in compensation due to the suspension.
“As I have said since the beginning of my tenure, we have high expectations for all of our staff members and coaches and we hold people accountable for their actions,” Louisville Vice President and Director of Athletics Vince Tyra said in the statement.
“While we have made great strides over the last four years in changing the culture in our Department of Athletics, we cannot afford to have any setbacks, no matter how big or small, in our pursuits. I am confident that Coach Mack now understands the impact of his actions. We all have confidence in him moving forward. I am grateful for the partnership and support of President (Neeli) Bendapudi in this matter.”
Tyra will meet virtually with media later Friday afternoon.
“I regret that any of my unintentional actions or failures to follow University guidelines have brought unnecessary attention to our outstanding athletics programs and University,” Mack said in the statement.
More: Ex-U of L basketball coach Dino Gaudio says Chris Mack broke rules
“I understand that I could have handled matters differently and therefore I accept this suspension. While it will kill me to be away from our basketball family in November, I will do everything possible to set them up for success before and after my time away, and I am fully confident that our coaches, staff and student-athletes will rise to the occasion.”
This story will be updated.
Reach Shannon Russell at slrussell@gannett.com and follow on Twitter @slrussell.
