Louisville men's basketball coach Chris Mack was issued a six-game suspension Friday for failure to follow university guidlelines and procedures relating to his handling of a matter surrounding former assistant coach Dino Gaudio.
Mack, who took over ahead of the 2018-19 season, will miss the team's first six games and forfeit roughly $221,000 in salary. Louisville plays at Michigan State and a two-game event in the Bahamas during the suspension. The Cardinals' annual game against Kentucky will be Mack's second game back on the bench.
Louisville has suspended men's basketball coach Chris Mack for six games of the upcoming season. He's out more than $200k in salary. Dino Gaudio is being sentenced for extorting Mack within an hour. Lots happening at U of L.
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) August 27, 2021
Gaudio, who twice led Wake Forest to the NCAA tournament and also served as the head coach at both Army and Loyola, has been charged with interstate communication with intent to extort after he threatened to tell the media about offenses and rules violations committed by Mack unless he was compensated for 17 months' worth of salary.
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Gaudio was given one year of probation and a $10,000 fine, the minimum punishment in a felony case.
Former Assistant UofL basketball coach Dino Gaudio has been sentenced to 1 year probation and a $10,000 fine for extortion.
— Jason Riley (@JasonRileyWDRB) August 27, 2021
“I made an error in judgement and I take full responsibility for that,” Gaudio said. “It will never happen again.”
Though the university conceded in a release that Gaudio did in fact extort Mack, it also made clear that Mack's suspension was "unrelated to the extortion attempt itself."
News: Louisville has suspended men’s basketball coach Chris Mack without pay for the first six games of the upcoming season. pic.twitter.com/JHnBkm8QM9
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) August 27, 2021
Mack, who took over ahead of the 2018-19 season, will miss the team's first six games and forfeit roughly $221,000 in salary.
"I regret that any of my unintentional actions or failures to follow University guidelines have brought unnecessary attention to our outstanding athletics programs and University,” Mack said in a statement. "I understand that I could have handled matters differently and therefore I accept this suspension. While it will kill me to be away from our basketball family in November, I will do everything possible to set them up for success before and after my time away, and I am fully confident that our coaches, staff and student-athletes will rise to the occasion."
Louisville is still under investigation following a nearly two-year long process which revealed allegations against former coach and Rick Pitino, who the NCAA said "failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance" as it related to several matters, all of which are being reviewed by the Independent Accountability Resolution Process.
The Cardinals are 57-28 with one NCAA Tournament berth so far during Mack's tenure.