INDIANAPOLIS --- The NCAA student-athlete reinstatement staff announced today it has reinstated the eligibility of University of Louisville men’s basketball student-athlete Derek Caracter.

Caracter, a freshman at Louisville, will be required to sit out three games during the current season for receiving benefits from a family friend during the summer prior to his freshman year. The family friend is a former employee of a sports agency. Caracter had repaid the loan in question prior to today’s ruling by the NCAA.

According to the facts of the case submitted by Louisville, Caracter was loaned $2,164.49 for various travel-related expenses for two basketball camps and an unofficial visit to Louisville as a prospective student-athlete by a family friend. During the student-athlete reinstatement process, the University of Louisville cited that the loans did not take place while the family friend was employed by a sports agent, as well as the fact that the loan had been repaid. In addition, the university notes that the acquaintance knew Caracter prior to his ninth-grade year and had a close relationship with him and his family for several years, including dating his aunt and living in the same house with him for a period of time.

"In assessing Mr. Caracter’s responsibility for this violation, the staff determined that he had some culpability, however, based on the dating relationship the individual had with his aunt and the fact that the benefits were provided after his employment with the sports agent had ended, only a minimal withholding was warranted,” said Jennifer Strawley, NCAA director of membership services and student-athlete reinstatement. "Reinstatement is a delicate balance of addressing the benefit or competitive advantage gained with student-athlete well being. In this instance, requiring repayment – which Caracter had already fulfilled – as well as requiring him to sit out 10 percent of the season adequately addresses Mr. Caracter’s responsibility for the violation while considering the specific factors of the case.”

During the reinstatement process, the NCAA reinstatement staff considers a number of factors including guidelines established by the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement, any relevant case precedent, the student-athlete’s responsibility for the violation, as well as any mitigating factors presented by the institution.

The university can appeal the decision to the NCAA Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee, an independent committee comprised of representatives from NCAA member colleges, universities and athletic conferences.