Kentucky and the NCAA have reached a settlement on an infractions case that involved football players receiving payment for work not performed over the course of 2021 and 2022.
In doing so, Kentucky agreed to two years of probation and to vacate wins in which football players that were ruled ineligible took part in. That includes all wins from the 2021 season, which saw the Wildcats go 10-3 and end the season with a New Year’s Day victory over Iowa in the Citrus Bowl.
The university will also pay an undisclosed fine but will not receive a postseason ban.
The NCAA Committee on Infractions ruled that at least 11 Kentucky football players had received impermissible benefits and that eight players competed in games while ineligible. The 11 players were paid for work/jobs that were not performed between the spring of 2021 and March 2022.
Kentucky avoided more serious charges like a failure-to-monitor violation because the NCAA found that no member of the athletic department should have “reasonably known” about the penalties within the football program.
“We respect the findings. There is a process. We participated in it. We accept the final resolution, and we are moving forward,” school president Eli Caplouto said in a statement Friday.