NCAA, Oklahoma State issue joint statement, call accusations 'fundamentally unfounded'

The NCAA and Oklahoma State are brushing aside any allegations that denounce the integrity of the institution's football program.

On Tuesday, both parties released a joint statement, calling the claims of misconduct erroneous.

"After a thorough review by the NCAA Enforcement Staff and an outside consultant hired by Oklahoma State University, allegations of misconduct in the Oklahoma State football program as reported by the media in September 2013 were fundamentally unfounded," the report states.

The statement indicates that although a few individuals outside the institution failed to comply, investigators reviewed around 50,000 emails and interviewed nearly 100 individuals involved with Oklahoma State’s football program. 

Individuals include current and former coaches, administrators, student-athletes, students and prospects.

Oklahoma State president V. Burns Hargis is critical of the accusations, saying the school did nothing wrong and that the so-called investigative report is nonsense.

"After serious claims were made in September of last year against our football program by Sports Illustrated, we announced that we would engage a recognized consultant to do a thorough investigation of the allegations," he said. "It ultimately was determined that the NCAA Enforcement Staff and the University’s consultant would jointly conduct the inquiry. 

"If we had done something wrong or were doing something wrong, we wanted to know."