Rutgers Receives 2 Years of Probation for NCAA Violations

The NCAA announced Friday that Rutgers University would be placed on two-year probation beginning immediately for multiple violations over a five-year period.

Rutgers "failed to monitor its football program" the NCAA said in the official release. The governing body of college athletics noted issues included the school not ensuring its drug-testing program was in compliance and a failure to "promote an atmosphere of compliance" by former head coach Kyle Flood.

Other penalties imposed by the NCAA featured a one-year show-cause period for both Flood and former assistant Darrell Wilson as well as "public reprimand and censure" for the university.

The NCAA also accepted Rutgers' self-imposed reductions in off-campus recruiting days and official visits from recruits, a one-week prohibition on prospect contact and a $5,000 fine.

"The former head coach took a casual approach to compliance as it relates to the host program," the Division I Committee on Infractions panel said. "He exercised little, if any, oversight of the group, permitting recruiting staff to administer the program with no supervision. As the individual who had ultimate oversight of all aspects of the football program, it is implicit that the head coach was also responsible for the actions of football hosts and, ultimately, the violations they committed."

Flood took over as the Scarlet Knights' head coach in 2012 after seven years as an assistant on the program's coaching staff. He accumulated a 27-24 record across four seasons before getting fired in November 2015.

The 46-year-old New York native currently works for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons as an assistant offensive line coach.

Chris Ash took over the Rutgers football program from Flood. He guided the team to a 2-10 record during the 2016 season and a 1-2 mark so far this season.

Although the team struggled during the investigation, the Scarlet Knights' outlook improved by avoiding a bowl ban or scholarship reductions as part of the NCAA's ruling.