by Fitzgerald Cecilio

Indianapolis, IN

The notice of allegations against University of Miami will be put in the backburner for now as the NCAA focuses on the investigation of alleged misconduct inside its own enforcement program.

The NCAA is currently investigating its former enforcement staff members who improperly obtained information for the purposes of investigation through a bankruptcy proceeding.

According to reports, the information and aid of Nevin Shapiro's criminal defense attorney was outside of the jurisdiction since the bankruptcy case does not involve the NCAA.

Because it does not have subpoena power, the NCAA does not have the authority to compel testimony through procedures outside of its enforcement program.

Through bankruptcy proceedings, former NCAA enforcement staff gained information for the investigation that would not have been accessible otherwise.

According to CBSSports.com, the NCAA discovered that several of its former workers retained Nevin Shapiro's attorney to work on depositions in a federal bankruptcy case in order determine NCAA violations.

The discovery has prompted NCAA president Mark Emmert to call for an external review of the entire enforcement program.

"The review will not only include the current issue in the Miami case but also the overall enforcement environment, to ensure operation of the program is consistent with the essential principles of integrity and accountability," Emmert said in a press statement.

"To say the least, I am angered and saddened by this situation. Trust and credibility are essential to our regulatory tasks," Emmert added. "My intent is to ensure our investigatory functions operate with integrity and are fair and consistent with our member schools, athletics staff and, most importantly, our student-athletes."

At the same time, the NCAA also announced that the enforcement staff will not move forward with a notice of allegations for the University of Miami until all the facts surrounding this issue are known.

"If there is any information that was obtained improperly absolutely it would be thrown out," Emmert said.

"I am frustrated, disappointed and concerned by President Emmert's announcement today that the integrity of the investigation may have been compromised by the NCAA staff," Miami president Donna Shalala said in response to the announcement.

"As we have done since the beginning, we will continue to work with the NCAA and now with their outside investigator hoping for a swift resolution of the investigation and our case," he added.

The NCAA has launched an external review of the organization's enforcement program due to improper conduct that happened during its investigation of the University of Miami and convicted Ponzi schemer Nevin Shapiro

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NCAA Investigates Own Enforcement Program