Flashback to 2016 and 2017: Scandals plague UofL as Rick Pitino is fired, President Ramsey resigns

Last week we congratulated alum Kyeland Jackson for winning a Pulitzer Prize, journalism’s highest honor. Jackson and the staff of The Minnesota Star Tribune won a newsroom-wide Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting.

Jackson worked at The Louisville Cardinal, the University of Louisville’s independent student news source, during one of the most turbulent and scandal-plagued periods in UofL’s history.

President James Ramsey was accused of embezzlement and ultimately resigned under pressure. Coach Rick Pitino and Athletic Director Tom Jurich were both fired after revelations that escorts were being paid to have sex with basketball players and potential recruits.

As Editor-in-Chief in 2016-17 and in Fall 2017, Jackson not only oversaw the paper’s coverage of these scandals but also wrote most of the articles about them. His work and the efforts of the many other media outlets who covered the stories were instrumental in helping UofL clean house and move out of this troubled period.

So take a trip down memory lane and check out some of the best and most significant articles this Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist wrote during his time with The Cardinal:

* NCAA: Pitino did not adequately monitor Andre McGee
Published March 23, 2017

* U of L meets NCAA, expects decision and possible punishment within months
Published April 20, 2017

* University starts process of firing Rick Pitino
Published Oct. 2, 2017

* U of L fires Tom Jurich
Published Oct. 18, 2017

* Postel: Jurich bullied senior leadership, damaged U of L
Published Oct. 24, 2017

* Board OK’s Ramsey’s resignation
Published July 28, 2016

* How James Ramsey fell from grace
Published Aug. 22, 2016

* Benz insists Ramsey and foundation chair must go
Published Sept. 13, 2016

* U of L’s Foundation board shaken
Published Sept. 16, 2016

* Foundation trumpets reforms to potential donors
Published Oct. 6, 2017

Photo: Former UofL men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino. Photo courtesy of The Louisville Cardinal. Originally published on March 23, 2017 in The Louisville Cardinal.