NCAA places Samford on probation

(STATS) - The NCAA has placed Samford athletics on probation for three years for minor violations involving academic certification.

The Southern Conference school, located in Birmingham, Alabama, will be on probation through April 7, 2019 and must pay a $5,000 fine. Athletic director Martin Newton said the NCAA did not impose any scholarship reductions, postseason bans or recruiting restrictions.

The violations occurred between fall 2010 and spring 2014 with 33 student-athletes, mostly transfers, competing while ineligible. They were involved in eight sports: football, men's tennis, baseball, softball, men's track, men's cross country, men's basketball and women's soccer.

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The violations were discovered by the NCAA during its Academic Progress Program audit.

"In acknowledging the violations," Newton said, "we would like to point out that during the audit, the NCAA found that there was no intentional wrongdoing by anyone in the athletics department or the university.

"Members of the university and athletics staffs committed relatively simple errors, but the problems were compounded because the errors were made over an extended period of time. We have taken steps to make sure this does not happen again."

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