It has been a week since the NCAA announced sanctions against the Kentucky Wildcats’ football and swimming programs for recent infractions.
New details, provided by Jon Hale of the *Lexington Herald-Leader*, reveal that both programs have been placed on two-year probation.
Kentucky has agreed to vacate all 10 wins from the 2021 football season and pay a fine, but the postseason Citrus Bowl trophy will remain with the program.
In 2022, Kentucky self-reported violations involving 11 players who were paid for work not performed at the UK hospital. The Wildcats had withheld four of these players from competition until they were cleared by the NCAA. Among the affected players were Chris Rodriguez and Jordan Wright.
The hospital supervisor in the transport department was fired in response to the infractions.
As for the football staff, no resignations were required as none of the staff members were aware of the violations. However, head coach Mark Stoops has had to adjust his career record due to the sanctions. The 10 wins from the 2021 season have been stripped, reducing his record from 73-65 to 63-65, meaning he no longer has a winning record.
Chris Rodriguez’s impressive stats from the 2021 season, where he amassed 1,379 rushing yards and set a program record for the most 100-yard rushing games, have also been vacated. With these records removed, Rodriguez falls out of the top 10 for all-time rushing yards at Kentucky.
Regarding the Citrus Bowl trophy, while the NCAA has stripped the win itself from the record, the trophy will remain with Kentucky. The NCAA does not fully administer bowl games, so the trophy will stay in the practice facility on campus.
Kentucky will also pay a self-imposed fine of $5,000, along with 10% of its Citrus Bowl payout, which amounts to approximately $800,000.
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