Cliff Hagan has become the first casualty...

Cliff Hagan has become the first casualty of an investigation by the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. into the University of Kentucky’s basketball program, resigning as athletic director after saying he was being used as a scapegoat in the probe.

University lawyer Joseph Burch was named acting athletic director, a university spokesman said.

The NCAA has criticized the university’s control and monitoring of the basketball program, which faces 18 allegations of wrongdoing.

Hagan will remain an employee of the university to assist in the transition and to bring the investigation to a conclusion, the spokesman said.