Kentucky to hear results of bowl ban appeal Tuesday

LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY - The University of Kentucky will find out Tuesday whether or not it will be eligible to play in a postseason bowl game this season. <br> <br> The NCAA Division I Infractions Appeals Committee will reveal its findings during a teleconference at 3:30 p.m. EDT. <br> <br> University of Kentucky President Lee Todd and new athletics director Mitch Barnhart will comment on the decision shortly after the NCAA&#39;s announcement, the school said Monday. <br> <br> Kentucky was banned from postseason participation in February as part of the NCAA&#39;s sanctions against the school for dozens of violations discovered in its football program under former coach Hal Mumme. <br> <br> Mumme resigned in the wake of the NCAA&#39;s investigation. Mumme will be the coach of Southeastern Louisiana&#39;s newly restored football program beginning in 2003. <br> <br> At the time, the bowl ban did not seem to be a significant penalty as Kentucky was coming off back-to-back 2-9 seasons with little chance of a significant turnaround this year. <br> <br> A 3-0 start this season, however, has made the possibility of winning the six games needed to be eligible for a bowl game more realistic. <br> <br> In addition to the postseason ban, the school was placed on three years&#39; probation, forced to reduce its total number of football scholarships to 80 instead of the permitted 85 over the same period and cited for a lack of institutional control over the program. <br> <br> The bowl ban was the first the NCAA&#39;s committee on infractions had levied against a Division I program since Miami was kept from the postseason seven years ago. <br> <br> Kentucky appealed the ban claiming that the bowl ban was too harsh because the violations did not give the school a clear, competitive advantage. <br> <br> School officials, including Todd, argued their case in front of the appeals committee last month in Chicago.