Oct 09, 2015 12:49 PM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

The University of Louisville (UL) Foundation hired a law firm to look into the allegations of strippers and escorts being hired by the men's basketball team to work at parties attended by recruits.

According to the Associated Press, Stites & Harbison will investigate the allegations separately from the probe UL commissioned Chuck Smrt, an official in the NCAA's enforcement office, to perform. UL President James Ramsey confirmed Smrt's involvement Thursday and also stated he was standing by the school's athletic director, Tom Jurich.

However, Ramsey made no mention of UL's head men's basketball coach, Rick Pitino, who was alleged to have known about the escorts and strippers. Pitino spoke to ESPN earlier in the week to deny allegations that he or someone on his staff knew.

"I'm sorry that Dr. Ramsey did not think enough to mention me, but that's something I cannot control," Pitino told local radio station 840 WHAS. "I don't know what resigning would accomplish.

"I think that's the cowardly way out if I resign now without coaching two fifth-year seniors and people who came to play for me. What does it do for the program if the coach runs away?

"If I resign, would people feel better about it?"

Katina Powell released a book last week titled "Breaking Cardinal Rules: Basketball and the Escort Queen" in which she claims to have first-hand knowledge of parties with strippers and escorts organized by a former UL men's basketball administrator.

She claims she and her daughters, who would have been underage at the time, performed sex acts with UL basketball recruits at these parties because that it what they were hired to do. Powell also claims the administrator, Andre McGee, also a former player, implied to her that Pitino knew about the parties.

JaQuan Lyle, a freshman basketball player at Ohio State, was recruited by Louisville and recently participated in an interview with the NCAA regarding the escort allegations, an Ohio State University spokesman confirmed to Yahoo Sports. Powell named Lyle in her book as a recruit she discussed with McGee.

Another former UL men's basketball player told ESPN anonymously that he witnessed strippers "one or two times" at the Billy Minardi Hall residence building. Though he indicated not all players knew the strippers were there, nor did he know who hired the them.

The player also said the strippers did nothing more than dance "in bathing suits" and "didn't even get all the way nude."

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