Kelly was praised for his decision to abolish the program; "SI"s Armen Keteyian wrote that given the egregiousness of the misconduct, nothing short of "the most drastic measure" was appropriate. At the time, Kelly vowed that men's basketball would never be reinstated; when asked if there was any chance it would return, he replied, "Permanent means permanent." However, he relented in 1988 when students who wanted a return of basketball convinced him that they were effectively being punished for something that happened before they came to Tulane. The program resumed play in the 1989–90 season, with Tulane returning to the Metro.