ACU Reacts to NCAA Infractions

"This case involves failure to monitor by Abilene Christian University," were the words that started the tele-conference held by the NCAA Division II Committee on Infractions, this afternoon. The committee went on to say, "[ACU] provided either directly or indirectly impermissible benefits to prospective and current student-athletes."

The committee did acknowledge that the University reported itself after learning of the infractions back in 2007. Something the school says is in their philosophy to do. "Our philosophy has been to self report and self correct, and that was our process when we discovered an infraction two years ago," said ACU's President, Dr. Royce Money, in a prepared statement.

Dr. Money went on to say the University, for the most part, intended no wrongdoing. "Our people see students in need, whether they are student-athletes or not. It is natural for them to react in a Christian manner by offering help where they see a need."

So what are the students saying on campus?

Not much, because the issue has been kept quiet until now. "It's been fairly quiet," says Ben Warton, a sophomore at ACU, adding he's just heard small talk until now. Although, he believes the NCAA's ruling and the self imposed probation by the Athletics Department are the right thing to do. "I guess it's probably the right thing to do, if they did end up getting some infractions."

However, Warton knows his Wildcats will bounce back from this. "We've got a lot of good coaches, staff and everything up there. I think we'll be able to bounce back from this and come back even stronger."

Which is something Dr. Money and all of ACU intend on seeing happen. "Everyone at Abilene Christian care deeply about maintaining the integrity of our Athletic Program."