On June 17, 2016, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin announced that the entire Board of Trustees of the university would be immediately disbanded and replaced and that Ramsey would be stepping down, and this was confirmed in a statement issued by Ramsey on the same day. Ramsey offered his resignation at a Board of Trustees meeting on July 27, 2016, which was accepted by the board. In December 2016, the university was placed on academic probation by its accrediting agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, over concerns that Governor Matt Bevin's actions had "violated rules that require that universities be independent". The probation was lifted a year later. The governor's actions were initially blocked by a judge but supported by new legislation passed by the Kentucky legislature in early 2017.