NCAA throws out Memphis' Final Four runWhoa!!!
This seems overly harsh to me. Here are excerpts of the articleMEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis has lost every one of the 38 victories it piled up in a basketball season that ended with John Calipari's Tigers just missing out on a national title.
The NCAA stripped Memphis of all its wins from 2007-08 Thursday, saying the Tigers used an ineligible player who is believed to be NBA star Derrick Rose.
The NCAA report did not identify the ineligible player by name, though descriptions of the athlete involved lead to the conclusion it could only be Rose. He was the only player who played just that season at Memphis — a fact noted by the governing body of college sports. Rose went on to be selected by the Chicago Bulls as the No. 1 pick in the 2008 draft and later won the NBA rookie of the year award.
The player was accused of having another person take his SAT exam in Detroit so he would be eligible as a freshman after failing the ACT three times in Chicago.
Memphis argued that the university did not have enough information to substantiate the allegations in November 2007 and cleared him to play. Memphis officials defended their investigation Thursday and said four people interviewed the player, with neither Calipari nor athletic director R.C. Johnson involved.
"That person responded that he took the test, and we believed him," university legal counsel Sheri Lipman said.
However, the SAT officials later conducted their own investigation and notified the player, the university and the NCAA's eligibility center that they were canceling his test in May 2008.
The agency said it sent letters to the player in March and April 2008; the second letter was sent three days after Rose and the Tigers lost to the Jayhawks. The player did not respond to either letter.
The infractions committee said it struck hard with its penalties because the ineligible player was used the entire season. Rose played in all 40 games, starting 39.
The university isn't accepting the punishment, not yet.