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Sources: NCAA to strip Memphis of '08 title game

by Jeff Goodman

Jeff Goodman is a senior college basketball writer for FOXSports.com. He can be reached at GoodmanonFOX@aol.com or check out his blog, Good 'N Plenty.


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Updated: August 20, 2009, 11:30 AM EDT
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For the second time, a John Calipari-coached team will be stripped of a Final Four appearance, multiple sources told FOXSports.com on Wednesday.

John Calipari coached Memphis to the 2008 national championship game. (Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)

The NCAA will announce its decision Thursday to strip Memphis of its national championship-game appearance and the team's 38 wins in 2008, the sources said.

The NCAA has a press conference scheduled for 3 p.m. ET. Memphis will follow with a news conference at 4:30 ET.

Calls to Calipari, Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson and first-year head coach Josh Pastner were not immediately returned.

Calipari, who left Memphis for Kentucky this past offseason, also had a Final Four vacated when he was the head coach at the University of Massachusetts in 1996 and standout big man Marcus Camby was found to have accepted money from an agent.

According to a source, there will be no further sanctions against the Memphis men's basketball program.

"Honestly, I don't care," former Memphis guard Antonio Anderson said. "We know what we did. We didn't do anything wrong, but it is what it is."

The NCAA conducted an investigation earlier this year and alleged that former Memphis star point guard Derrick Rose cheated on a standardized test to gain admission into the school. A player's associate, who multiple sources confirmed was Rose's older brother, Reggie, was accused of being permitted to travel with the team for free — illegal benefits in excess of $2,000.

Calipari, who wasn't named in the report, participated in a hearing with the NCAA on June 6 while traveling in China.

Memphis finished 38-2 two years ago and lost to Kansas in overtime in the national championship game.

Rose ended up being the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft in 2008 and was the Rookie of the Year this past season.

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