Alcorn State placed under NCAA probation

(STATS) - The NCAA has imposed sanctions against Alcorn State for the SWAC university's failure to monitor its progress-toward-degree certification process, which allowed student-athletes to compete while ineligible.

Alcorn State said in a release Wednesday that it was placed under two years' probation and must vacate wins that involved the ineligible student-athletes and pay a $5,000 fine.

The violations involved a combined 26 student-athletes in football, men's basketball, men's and women's tennis, baseball, men's and women's cross country, women's soccer, softball, men's and women's track and field, and women's volleyball. Football vacated wins in the 2012 and '13 seasons.

The NCAA discovered the incorrect certifications during an NCAA Division I Academic Performance Program audit. The infractions were the result of an unintentional administrative error.

Alcorn State said it has taken steps to improve its processes. The fine will be retained by the institution to provide rules education for staff members.