NCAA Investigation Finds Potential Violations at Rutgers

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The NCAA has informed Rutgers that an 18-month investigation into the department of athletics has found seven potential violations.

The NCAA issued a notice of allegations on Tuesday, stating that the department had not been operating in full compliance with NCAA and university standards. The investigation and potential violations focused on former coach Kyle Flood, a student-athlete host/hostess program and inconsistencies in the administration of drug testing procedures and policies.

Rutgers has 90 days to reply.

In a letter to the university community, Rutgers president Robert Barchi said the university has retained outside counsel for the investigation and has cooperated fully with the NCAA enforcement staff in its investigation.

Rutgers has already done some things to try to fix the problems, including firing Flood after the 2015 season.

The NCAA felt Flood violated its bylaws by having impermissible contact with a professor in an effort to help cornerback Nadir Barnwell improve a grade. In addition, he is charged with failing to promote an atmosphere of compliance in the football program, violating the principles of NCAA head coach responsibility legislation.

The NCAA also said a former assistant football coach is accused of having improper off-campus recruiting contact with a prospective student athlete in 2014. The coach was also accused of unethical conduct for providing false or misleading information to the NCAA and the institution during the investigation.

Flood was suspended for three games and fined $50,000 after a university investigated the allegations that he tried to influence's a player's grade.

Athletic director Julie Hermann was also fired in the wake of the controversy, replaced by Patrick Hobbs.

The NCAA alleged that between the 2011-12 academic year and the fall of 2015, the Rutgers football host/hostess program, staffed by student workers, was not properly operated and supervised. Two student hostesses had impermissible off-campus contact and electronic correspondence with prospective student athletes, while the former football director of recruiting impermissibly publicized the recruitment of prospective student-athletes, the NCAA said.

The university and its director of sports medicine are also accused of violating drug testing policy by failing to notify the athletic director of positive tests. The NCAA alleged that the official along with the coach also didn't follow through on discipline or identify certain drug tests as positive, as required by university policy.

Because of the violations, the NCAA also said that the university failed to properly monitor its football program between 2011 and 2016.

Rutgers implemented a new drug testing policy in August and hired a new chief medical officer in October.

"Despite my disappointment over these allegations, I believe we are a stronger university because of our immediate and transparent response to them, and you have my word that we will continue to strive for excellence with integrity, Barchi said.

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