(Host) The NCAA issued a statement Thursday concerning their investigation into alleged infractions made by Castleton State College football coach Rich Alercio.
As VPR’s Nina Keck reports, the NCAA believes Alercio was at fault in helping one of his athletes access student loans, but no further sanctions will be taken against the college.
(Keck) According to the statement, Castleton State Football coach Rich Alercio did violate collegiate athletic rules when he arranged for a college employee to endorse student loans for an athlete totaling more than $20,000 dollars. Alercio resigned because of the incident last month.
Christopher Strobel, who investigated the matter for the NCAA was unavailable for comment and no one from the athletic organization returned phone calls.
But in a written statement, Strobel says the NCAA’s enforcement staff was extremely concerned by Mr. Alercio’s actions and the violations reported by the institution.
According to Strobel, the NCAA considered processing the matter as a major infractions case. But because the college took immediate action by investigating and self reporting the matter – and asking for coach Alercio’s resignation – the matter was downgraded to a less serious offense. Castleton State College President David Wolk says he’s relieved with the findings.
(Wolk) "We didn’t know if there would be further sanctions against the college – anything from probation from suspension, to restrictions on recruiting, to fines, and any of a vast array of sanctions that could have been imposed on the college. So yes, we were pleased that they supported our self reporting our investigation and the action that we had to take."
(Keck) Wolk says he had no plans to change how their athletic department is run and says the college does provide adequate training for coaches and graduate assistants on NCAA rules.
For VPR news, I’m Nina Keck.