Louisville basketball coach facing federal charges of extortion

Former University of Louisville basketball coach Dino Gaudio is facing federal charges for allegedly trying to extort the program, the acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Kentucky announced on Tuesday.

Gaudio was charged by the U.S. attorney’s office for allegedly threatening to tell the media of recruiting violations if he wasn’t paid 17 months of salary to not report the issue. 

Gaudio extorted money from UofL, threatening to tell the media about recruiting violations, according to the charging document.

— Jason Riley (@JasonRileyWDRB) May 18, 2021

Court documents also show a text Gaudio sent to other Louisville coaches containing one of the recruitment videos he threatened to release, according to a tweet from Fox affiliate WDRB reporter Jason Riley. 

Gaudio sent a text to UofL officials on March 17 containing one of the recruiting videos he was threatening to send the media, according to the charging documents pic.twitter.com/BNBIKM193x

— Jason Riley (@JasonRileyWDRB) May 18, 2021

The university released a statement saying that Gaudio’s contract with the team wasn’t renewed and that it will not comment further on the federal and NCAA investigations. 

Louisville has released a statement. pic.twitter.com/oNdS2S5c52

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 18, 2021

“While I cannot comment on the details or substance of the matter, I am grateful for the professionalism of members of law enforcement and the United States Attorney’s Office,” head men’s basketball coach Chris Mack said in the statement. “The University and I were the victims of Coach Gaudio’s conduct and I will continue to fully cooperate with authorities in their investigation.”

Gaudio was previously an analyst for ESPN’s college basketball coverage before joining Mack’s staff as an assistant coach in 2018, according to WDRB.