Rutgers coach Kyle Flood was suspended three games and fined $50,000 on Wednesday for having impermissible conduct with a university professor.

He delivered a statement following the release of the news:

“Earlier today, I met with President Barchi in his office and he informed me of my three-game suspension and the imposed fine.

At Rutgers, we hold our student-athletes to high academic standards befitting a great university. We adhere to a higher standard, one that I am responsible to be aware of.  I take full responsibility and accept the consequences of my actions. I care deeply about my student-athlete’s academic performance.  As the head coach, when I recruit players, my responsibility to them and their families is to do all I can to make sure they leave Rutgers with a degree and are prepared for a successful life off the football field.  I am proud that our program has ranked in the top 10% of the APR 8 years in a row. That success doesn’t happen by accident. It’s due to our top-to-bottom program culture emphasizing the importance of academic success, and it’s why we have a robust academic support staff that is second to none. I will always instill in my players that they have a responsibility to themselves, their families, our University and its alumni to perform well in the classroom, and I will never stop caring about their academic performance.

Moving forward, I will make sure I adhere to all University policies and I will place an even greater emphasis with our staff on knowing, understanding and following every University, Big Ten and NCAA rule.

In deference to our student athletes, coaches, and staff moving forward, I will not provide further comment at this time.”

Rutgers Athletic Director Julie Hermann had a statement of her own:

“Yesterday, President Barchi shared with me the findings of the Office of Enterprise Risk Management, Ethics and Compliance review of the matter regarding Coach Flood.

I know Coach Flood understands the severity of his transgressions and I am fully supportive of President Barchi’s decision to impose a suspension and a significant fine.

All of us must use this as an opportunity to grow as coaches, administrators and staff. We have been in the process of instituting additional compliance training as it relates to University policies on athletic-faculty communication and continue to enhance our documentation of all compliance-related meetings.

I have full confidence in Coach Norries Wilson to lead our team for the next three games and we will continue to provide the support necessary to enable our student-athletes to achieve success.”