Oklahoma State University has appointed a former NCAA official to investigate alleged misconduct in the Cowboy football program.
OSU President Burns Hargis and the Board of Regents announced Monday that Charles E. Smrt will lead an independent review of alleged violations reported by Sports Illustrated.
Hargis says Smrt is a veteran NCAA enforcement officer. He is currently president of a consulting firm specializing in compliance audits. Before that he was on the NCAA enforcement staff for almost 18 years.
Smrt says he will pursue the facts wherever they lead him.
The alleged violations reported by the magazine occurred between 2001 and 2010. Among the potential NCAA violations mentioned in the report are cash payments to players from boosters and assistant coaches and sham jobs for which players were paid.
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