The NCAA has placed Cheyney University of Pennsylvania on probation for three years after finding that the Division II institution gave improper benefits to six ineligible football players and allowed four of them to compete in games they should not have been permitted to play in.

According to a report issued today by the Division II Committee on Infractions, the team’s former head football coach was at the center of the problems, once ordering an ineligible player to switch uniform numbers with an eligible player so he could participate. He also allowed ineligible players to travel to away games and have their expenses reimbursed, a practice that is against NCAA rules.

The committee found that the university had failed to monitor its athletics programs adequately from the summer of 2002 through September 2006. As part of its penalty, the university must vacate four victories in three seasons, limit its recruiting, and complete a compliance review within the next year to improve its oversight of athletics.

The university does not plan to appeal the penalties. —Brad Wolverton