By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Western Illinois University’s athletic department was placed on three years’ probation by the NCAA in a negotiated resolution after an investigation of what the university said were “unintentional certification violations” that resulted in ineligible athletes competing between 2021 and 2024.

The penalties also include the vacation of team and individual records in sports in which ineligible players competed over the period, including baseball, football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s golf, men’s soccer, softball, men’s indoor and outfield track and field, women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, and women’s volleyball.

“During a time of great transition at our institution, our department was understaffed and we failed to meet the NCAA’s compliance expectations,” WIU athletics director Paul Bubb said in a statement released on Friday. “We didn’t hide our unintentional violations, nor did we step back from the hard work required to correct them. We faced our failures, accepted responsibility, and implemented the educational training, policies, and practices necessary to ensure this does not happen again.”

The NCAA report said 23 athletes in 12 sports were permitted to compete in 349 contests while ineligible, four athletes received impermissible financial aid, and seven athletes were not withheld from subsequent seasons of competition. The report said specific certification issues centered on transfer student-athletes who were errantly permitted to:

• Compete without successfully completing their percentage-of-degree requirements.

• Compete without confirmation of a degree from their two-year school or without completing an academic year in residence.

• Compete without satisfactory completion of a minimum of six credit hours toward their designated degree program during the previous academic term.

• Compete after exhausting all seasons of competition.

• Receive athletics scholarships before being properly certified as eligible.

There were no postseason or television bans with the probation, but during the probation period WIU staff members with certification responsibilities will be required to attend NCAA regional rules seminars. The university was also fined $25,000.

The NCAA said in its report that, “The violations largely occurred because the school did not ensure effective communication between the registrar, compliance and academic services staff, nor did the school establish checks and balances or provide adequate training to campus academic officials involved in the certification process. The school and enforcement staff agreed that the school failed to monitor its eligibility certification process.”

Western Illinois’ statement said the NCAA recognized several mitigating factors that reduced the severity of potential sanctions — WIU’s decade-long absence of Level I, Level II, or major violations, the prompt disclosure of issues, immediate acknowledgement of responsibility, the institution’s commitment to meaningful corrective actions, and timely submission of a negotiated resolution that expedited the review process.

“While this process has required significant time and energy, it has strengthened relationships across campus and prompted meaningful reviews of our policies and procedures,” said professor Jeremy Robinett, the university’s faculty athletics representation. “These efforts ultimately position us to better support our student-athletes from recruitment to graduation.”