Louisville suspends offensive coordinator for involvement in Wake Forest scandal

LOUISVILLE, KY (ESPN.COM) — The Louisville Cardinals have suspended offensive coordinator Lonnie Galloway for its bowl game in light of his involvement in the events that have led to the Wake Forest play-sharing scandal, Cardinals athletic director Tom Jurich said Friday, adding that the school will accept any disciplinary actions that the ACC wishes to take.

In announcing the suspension, Jurich said in a statement that even though the information at issue was not solicited, it should not have been accepted and officials at Louisville should have been promptly notified of the situation.

Jurich said the school has carefully reviewed what took place following the receiving of information from the Demon Deacons on their investigation, reiterating that Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino has been firm on his two public comments that he did not know about the information provided to Galloway before the Nov. 12 game between Louisville and Wake Forest.

“Two days ago, I announced that our co-offensive coordinator, Lonnie Galloway, received information from Tommy Elrod of Wake Forest concerning information that belonged to Wake Forest,” Jurich said in a statement, referring to his Wednesday statement that Galloway had received “a few plays” from former Wake Forest announcer Tommy Elrod.

“Since then, we have carefully and thoroughly reviewed what took place following the receipt of information from Wake Forest on their investigation. I have also been in regular contact with the Commissioner of the ACC. Coach Petrino has been firm that on the two occasions in which he previously commented on the matter, he did not know about the information provided at that time.

“It is clear to me that the information should not have been shared by anyone at Wake Forest and it should not have been received by anyone at the University of Louisville,” the statement continues. “Although no one from Louisville sought the information, once it was provided, we did not do what should have been done. The information should not have been accepted. It should have been rejected and officials at Wake Forest should have been alerted to the inappropriate action taken by Mr. Elrod.

“As a result, I am suspending Coach Galloway from participation in the Citrus Bowl, effective immediately. We will also accept any actions in which commissioner John Swofford deems appropriate.

“This is an unusual situation. When someone receives information they should not be given, it is important that they do the right thing. Even in a competitive atmosphere, the right and ethical thing would have been for us to not accept the information. I regret very much that this took place.”

Wake Forest had concluded that Elrod, a former Demon Deacons player and assistant coach, provided or attempted to provide confidential game preparations to opponents several times beginning in 2014.

Louisville and Virginia Tech have acknowledged receiving information from Elrod, who was fired from the IMG Radio Network and banned from Wake Forest athletics and facilities. Army has been contacted as part of Wake Forest’s internal investigation as well.

Additionally, Indiana released a statement Friday afternoon saying that the school conducted its own review, which did not uncover any evidence that the Hoosiers had obtained confidential or inside information from Wake Forest personnel prior to its games against the program in 2015 and 2016.

Galloway, the first-year Louisville coordinator, has known Elrod since 2007, and the two worked together on the Wake Forest staff in 2011 and 2012. Wake Forest’s investigation was launched after a sheet featuring its plays was discovered during a Nov. 11 walkthrough at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium one day before it played Louisville there.

Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson said Friday morning on ESPN’s Mike & Mike that the Deacs had to adjust their game plan for the Cardinals after discovering the aforementioned sheets, adding that players were upset because they felt they had wasted their effort practicing opponent-specific sets that were discarded once Wake Forest realized it had been compromised.

Wake Forest faces Temple in the Dec. 27 Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman.

Louisville faces LSU in the Dec. 31 Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl.