Louisville Officially Stripped of 2013 National Championship Over Escort Sex Scandal

The 2013 NCAA men's basketball National Title game was memorable. The favored, No. 1 seed Louisville Cardinals pulled away late to top the upstart No. 4 seed Michigan Wolverines 82-76 in a game that featured a bunch of noteworthy young players: Tim Hardaway, Jr., Glenn Robinson III, Caris LeVert, Russ Smith, Mitch McGary, Montrezl Harrell, Nik Stauskas, Trey Burke, and Gorgui Dieng.

In June 2017, however, the NCAA vacated the title in the wake of an escort sex scandal that involved recruits and an on-campus dorm between 2011-15. The Cardinals attempted to fight it, though, as Louisville submitted a 68-page appeal to the NCAA.

On Tuesday, the governing body announced the appeal has been rejected, according to ESPN.

Louisville interim president Greg Postel issued a statement after the NCAA announced its decision.

"I cannot say this strongly enough: We believe the NCAA is simply wrong," Postel said. "We disagree with the NCAA ruling for reasons we clearly stated in our appeal. And we made a strong case—based on NCAA precedent—that supported our argument."

Louisville is now officially the first D1 men's hoops national champion to be stripped of its title.

"This dark cloud has hung over our heads for more than two years, and it has had a negative impact on our athletics program, our fans and the entire university family," Postel said. "While we disagree with the NCAA's decision, it is time for the university to close this chapter and move forward with a stronger commitment to excellence on and off the court."

The same day the NCAA originally stripped the title, it charged then-Louisville head coach Rick Pitino with failure to monitor his program. He was suspended five games.

A few months later, however, he was fired during a separate scandal: an alleged pay-for-play ring that involved adidas and payment of a top-ranked recruit.