The NCAA ruled Friday that Kentucky swim and dive committed practice violations and the athletic department is responsible for “failure to monitor” the program.
The ruling, which did not address the active sexual assault allegations levied against former head coach Lars Jorgensen, determined that the program exceeded the limits of “countable athletically related activities,” and that student athletes were not given the required amount of days off and were held too many hours in practice for “nearly three years.”
The news broke as part of a dual ruling against both the swim program and the Kentucky football program, which committed violations of payment without work and saw the athletic department fined and put on a two-year probation. The swim program did not have to forfeit any results because of the ruling while the football program vacated the entire 2021 season.
The report stated that the University of Kentucky “agreed that it failed to monitor its swimming and diving program.” University of Kentucky president Eli Capilouto also emphasized in a statement that the violations occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic and that “customary in-person monitoring was not possible due to public health protocols” while students were not on campus.
The NCAA violations preceded former head coach Jorgensen’s resignation in 2023 and sparked an in-depth investigation by the athletic program that then led to the allegations of sexual abuse and rape coming to light.
The NCAA’s statement on the matter said that “one former coach did not participate in the agreement” and determined that “that portion of the case will be considered separately by the Committee on Infractions.”
“By separating the cases, the Division I Committee on Infractions publicly acknowledges the infractions case and permits the school to immediately begin serving penalties while awaiting the committee’s final decision on the remaining contested portion of the case. That decision will include any findings and penalties for the former coach,” the statement read.
Capilouto released a statement following the ruling that ensured that “a number of campus units internally are currently reviewing the institution’s response to allegations of sexual assault involving the former swim coach, Lars Jorgensen.”
In addition to that, Capilouto also provided a list of actions the university is taking to prevent future incidents of sexual misconduct within the athletics program.
These reforms to the current system of reporting and investigating abuse listed by Capilouto are set to address the following:
-Investigations of sexual harassment and misconduct allegations carried out by the Office for Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity (IEEO).
-Internal rules and regulations to underscore a commitment to protecting athletes and staff and making clearer the ramifications of misconduct.
-Compliance and communications between internal agencies from the moment information is learned until the completion of an investigation.
In demonstrating current actionable steps to reform the system and address those areas of concern, Capilouto listed the following solutions that will be utilized by UK Athletics:
-Hire additional personnel for investigations of allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct.
-Better track and manage caseloads and streamline responsibilities to ensure cases are responded to, investigated and finalized more expeditiously.
-Better utilize and optimize records management software to ensure a more seamless flow of internal communication and information sharing.
The president also emphasized the following specific policy changes being made at UK:
-Anyone found responsible for significant violations of the policies would be deemed ineligible for rehire, a designation that is placed on the individual’s public record for future employers to see.
-All employment contract and hire letters will include language from existing university policies regarding ethical conduct and will include clear consequences for failure to report sexual harassment or misconduct.
-Enhance pre-employment screenings in addition to background checks.
-In an instance when a settlement is considered, the IEEO office will be consulted directly regarding the status of active investigations.
Since the sexual assault allegations were made public in mid-April, the University of Kentucky and UK Athletics have insisted the institution will cooperate with law enforcement for the investigation as well as the active lawsuit that was opened against coach Jorgensen and UK by former members of the UK swim and dive team.
“(Athletic director) Mitch (Barnhart) and I are sickened by the allegations that members of the UK community suffered harm because of the actions of someone entrusted to protect and empower our student athletes and staff,” Capilouto’s statement read. “We will not tolerate abuse, and neither should anyone who is a member of our community. The most serious allegations were only known to us at the time a lawsuit was filed by two former staff members and after the coach had been dismissed.”
The lawsuit against Jorgensen and UK is active and future updates will be reported on all Kentucky Kernel platforms.
