Associate AD for Kentucky basketball operations Chris Woolard charged with DUI

The University of Kentucky's longtime associate athletics director for basketball operations was arrested early Monday morning in Lexington and charged with driving under the influence.

Officers with Lexington Police found Chris Woolard, who is in his 12th year working for coach John Calipari's staff, at around 1:50 a.m. in the driver's seat of a car that had gone off the road at Beaumont Centre Lane and Malone Drive, according to an arrest citation. The vehicle was still in drive, according to the citation, which said Woolard was "covered in vomit and smelled of an alcoholic beverage."

Woolard, 48, told responding officers that he had been drinking and had taken a "prescribed medication," the arrest citation said. Police noted Woolard's "bloodshot watery eyes, slurred speech, extremely unsteady gait" and said he was "unable to follow our instructions to exit the vehicle, put it in park, and turn it off."

Woolard was taken into custody after police conducted a sobriety test, according to the arrest citation, which said he refused a Breathalyzer test. He was granted administrative release and has an arraignment hearing scheduled for Oct. 28, online court records show.

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A UK Athletics spokesperson told the Courier Journal the department is aware of the situation and "handling the matter internally."

A native of Carbondale, Illinois, Woolard joined the Kentucky basketball program before the 2011-12 season after spending seven years as Conference USA's associate commissioner for sports services, a tenure that overlapped with Calipari's time at Memphis. When Woolard was hired at UK, Calipari tweeted: "We have had a strong working relationship in the past and I look forward to our future."

Woolard's bio on UK Athletics' website says he is "involved with all aspects of the program and has an active role as a liaison between John Calipari and the basketball program with the campus and the Commonwealth."

Woolard is also the executive director for the Calipari Foundation, the charitable arm of the Kentucky men's basketball coach and his wife, Ellen Calipari.

Reach recruiting and trending sports reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball associate AD Chris Woolard charged with DUI