NCAA Announces Penalties Against the Louisville Cardinals

The NCAA has handed down its sanctions against the University of Louisville's basketball team regarding the prostitute scandal which began to unfold in the fall of 2015.

For failure to better monitor his program, head coach Rick Pitino will be suspended for the first five conference games of the 2017-2018 season.

The NCAA's Committee on Infractions also put the program on probation for four years.

The committee also took into account the school's self-imposed post-season ban for 2015-2016, which means that that decision likely mitigated the current punishment.

Scholarship reductions and recruiting restrictions are also a part of the penalties along with a $5000 fine. The Cardinals program will also have to forfeit any money received via conference revenue sharing from the NCAA Tournaments from 2012 through 2015.

That includes a Final Four appearance AND the 2013 national title.

And here's where Louisville fans will be sitting on pins and needles.

The NCAA issued a "vacation of basketball records in which student-athletes competed while ineligible from December 2010 and July 2014."

That means it's entirely possible that the 2013 championship could be vacated and that banner would have to be removed from the Yum! Center rafters.

No Division I college hoops team has ever had a national championship vacated.

The university has announced it will appeal the ruling.