This story has been updated.

A law enforcement source confirmed Thursday that ousted University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino is the Coach 2 described in the FBI's bribery investigation of college basketball, which could allow the university to avoid paying off $46 million due on his contract.

Coach 2 is described in a 28-page criminal complaint as central in the allegation that money was funneled to recruits and their families to secure their commitment to the University of Louisville.

The complaint unsealed in federal court in New York this week describes how defendants claimed to have talked to a person identified only as Coach 2 about funneling $100,000 from an apparel company to secure a top recruit’s commitment.

The complaint says defendant Christian Dawkins, who works at a New Jersey-based sports management company, called Coach 2 and told him, "I need you to call Jim Gatto," the global marketing manager for Adidas who also has been charged in the case and subsequently suspended by Adidas.

An FBI agent said in a sworn affidavit that a review of phone records show that on May 27, Gatto had two conversations tied to a phone number used by Coach 2. The complaint says on June 1, Gatto had a third conversation tied to the same number.

Pitino's attorney, Steve Pence, said in an interview that "if there were calls made they were innocent calls. He also said Pitino "did not make calls confirming any payments to any of his recruits. He's engaged in no misconduct at all."

Two days later after the third conversation linked to Coach 2's phone, the player — identified as freshman Brian Bowen by the Courier-Journal — unexpectedly committed to the University of Louisville.

Interim University of Louisville President Greg Postel told reporters that the university knows the names of the coaches referenced in the complaint, but he declined to identify them or say whether Coach 2 is Pitino.

Watch:A former prosecutor provides insight into an FBI investigation

FBI spokesman David Habich has said that under Justice Department policy the agency cannot comment on pending investigations.

The FBI’s complaint, in which 10 people have been charged, is based on secret wiretaps, cooperating witnesses and undercover agents.

The complaint says that on July 27, an assistant coach from a university identified as the University of Louisville met in a hotel room in Las Vegas with a cooperating witness, an undercover agent as well as Dawkins and another defendant, Jonathan Brad Augustine.

As the meeting was being recorded on video, Augustine said he expected the company that has been identified as Adidas to pay for at least a portion of future payments to another U of L recruit or his family because "no one swings a bigger dick than [Coach 2]" at the company. He added that all Coach 2 has to do is “pick up the phone and call somebody, [and say] these are my guys, they're taking care of us."

Dawkins and the Louisville assistant coach, along with an FBI undercover agent, then discussed ensuring that the recruit ultimately signed with Dawkins upon entering the NBA.

The Louisville assistant then explained that Coach 2 “is not a guy to have his own agent already set up so that it would fall upon Coach 1 and another assistant coach” at Louisville “to steer the athletes to certain advisors.”

The complaint says that after the Louisville assistant left the room, Dawkins, Augustine, the undercover agent and the cooperating witness “proceeded to discuss” the Bowen scheme and in particular, the involvement of Coach 2 in securing funding” from Adidas for Bowen’s family.

Pitino’s contract says he can be fired for cause for a number of reasons, including “disparaging media publicity of a material nature that damages the good name and reputation of the university … if such publicity is caused by employee's willful misconduct or which could objectively be anticipated to bring employee into public disrepute or scandal or which tends to greatly offend the public.”

The contract says he must be given 10 days notice and "an opportunity to be heard" before he is fired. He was notified Tuesday that he was suspended without pay.

Reporter Andrew Wolfson can be reached at 502-582-7189 or awolfson@courier-journal.com.