FACING THE MUSIC. The Northern Illinois University statement on the one-year probation imposed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association is up.

Northern Illinois University will not appeal an NCAA Committee on Infractions ruling handed down today in which the committee acknowledged “mitigating circumstances” and imposed a reduced minimum penalty.

Instead, NIU officials say the report and its one-year probation penalty brings closure to a long-standing case involving a former women’s basketball player. NIU first notified the NCAA of possible violations more than two years ago.

“At the heart of this case was a faculty member who, at the request of the athletic department, reached out to help a struggling student,” said NIU President John Peters. “We’re grateful to the infractions committee for recognizing that context and for acknowledging that NIU’s excellent compliance history strongly influenced their final decision.”

The Northern Star reports that two individuals no longer associated with the university received letters of reprimand. (If they're no longer with Northern Illinois and these reprimands are not a matter of public record, do the responsible officials at their current employers have any way of knowing this?) The Star's sports editor recognizes that the probation can lead to adverse entries on the permanent records of others.

Despite the fact that it was a former NIU athlete and she was a part of the women's basketball team only, all of NIU athletics will feel the effects of the probation. This shows one of the NCAA's major flaws in it's current system when it comes to situations like these.

If anyone in any sport at NIU commits an infraction in the next year, then that could equal seriously bad news for the athletic department. We're talking the possibility of a loss of scholarships or even the loss of postseason play, which other schools like Michigan and Georgia have experienced in the last few years.

But he has a few things to learn about what "institutional reputation" means. The other teams can bask in the association with a bowl-winning football program, and, in the classroom, the strengths of an accounting program or the weaknesses of an area studies program can affect the academic reputation of the university taken together. Tell me who your friends are and all that.

The university is already responding to the probation. I recently attended an event at which the compliance coordinator reminded boosters that there were rules governing booster interaction with students and potential students.