Lexington, Ky. — The Monday arrest of Kentucky staffer Chris Woolard, associate athletic director of basketball operations, for driving under the influence of alcohol will be handled “internally,” per a statement from the school.
Woolard, who was hired during the 2011-12 season, has played a significant day-to-day role on John Calipari’s staff. Woolard also serves as executive director of the Calipari Foundation.
“We are aware of the situation and we are handling the matter internally,” the Kentucky athletic department said Thursday in a statement.
Per reports, Woolard failed field sobriety tests after he was found asleep in the driver’s seat of his car on a sidewalk in a residential area in Lexington early Monday morning.
“Christopher W. Woolard was arrested on October 10, 2022, for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol,” Lexington police spokesman Sgt. R. Guy Miller told ESPN on Friday.
Kentucky will host its Big Blue Madness season-kickoff event Friday night. With Oscar Tshiebwe, last season’s Wooden Award winner, back to lead the Wildcats, the men’s basketball program is expected to compete for the national title, which the school last won in 2012.