Officials at Iowa State University say alleged recruiting violations have been sensationalized and reported inaccurately by a media outlet in Ames.
The NCAA is investigating the university for 79 violations that reportedly happened between 2008 and 2011. The university announced Tuesday, April 2, 2013 – the day its final report was sent to the NCAA – that the violations were discovered internally and they self-reported them to the NCAA in November 2011.
“Unfortunately during the past several days, a local media outlet has made sensationalized allegations about the institution and its staff that are not only inaccurate, but also potentially damaging to our institution since this case has not been heard yet by the Committee on Infractions,” said a follow-up statement posted to the Cyclones website Thursday, April 4.
The statement did not identify the accused media outlet.
The follow-up statement goes on to address potentially confusing statements about when the violations were reported and how the investigation was handled.
It also denied any efforts to keep the investigation a secret, saying the number of people who knew about it was intentionally kept small to protect the integrity of the investigation.
“The confidentiality was not driven by a desire to conceal, but by a need to figure out as accurately as possible what really happened. The circle was kept very tight — not at all for secrecy, but in order to preserve the integrity and effectiveness of the investigation,” according to a message posted online from University Faculty Athletics Representative Dr. Tim Day.
Day said Tuesday marked the end of their internal investigation, which he characterized as “exhaustive and painstaking,” saying, “the depth and breadth of the data reported is literally unprecedented.”
