Silence surrounds CSC’s NCAA investigation

Investigation continues; information doesn’t.

Monday marked the four-month anniversary since Chadron State publicly announced it had self-reported concerns to the NCAA about possible football fundraising violations.

Now more than 120 days later, officials from CSC and its governing body, the Nebraska State College System, have released relatively few details about the investigation.

“I wish that I could tell you what’s going on right now, but I can’t. I know that sounds like an easy glib answer, but it would be a whole lot easier for me if I could tell you,” NSCS Chancellor Stan Carpenter said to the CSC campus community in November during his state-of-the-system address.

Responding to a Sunday inquiry about whether the NSCS would release the NCAA-issued “notice of inquiry,” Carpenter stated via email Tuesday “the notice of inquiry was given orally, thus, there is nothing in writing regarding the notice.”

Repeated telephone inquiries this week to Carpenter; one to Kristin Petersen, NSCS general counsel and vice chancellor for employee relations; and one to Janie Park, CSC president, were not returned.

According to the enforcement process on the NCAA’s website, the notice of inquiry is an official notification that tells school leadership “enforcement staff will be investigating the school. The alleged facts of the case are also presented including the potential violations by sport, the approximate time period associated with the potential violations and the involved parties. The enforcement staff also includes an approximate time frame for the investigation and notes any facts found during the investigation may cause additional violations, related or not, to be identified.”

The NCAA does not limit disclosure of the notice.

“The NCAA does not release the notice of inquiry publicly, but the school may choose to release the letter or confirm its receipt,” the NCAA’s website states.

After the NCAA’s investigation, it compiles a case summary that “documents the allegations, the involved individuals, any outstanding issues and other information relevant to the case.”

In his Tuesday email, Carpenter stated that the system office hasn’t decided whether it will make the report public.

Asked directly if the NCAA’s findings [notice of allegations and/or case summary] would be publicly released, Carpenter responded, “No decision has been made regarding the NCAA’s final report.”