UNK’s football program was sanctioned by the NCAA this week for recruiting violations that happened under former head coach Josh Lynn and his staff. The NCAA found that the former coaching staff and the University provided impermissible benefits to prospective student-athletes so they could come to campus as part of recruiting visits. The violations occurred in August 2021 and July & August of 2022. The NCAA also ruled that the former staff and Nebraska-Kearney failed to monitor the football program.

The rules violations arose after Lynn and West Texas A&M self reported the matter to the NCAA which then led back to Lynn’s time in Kearney. UNK started its own investigation into the matter that wrapped up in the fall of 2023.

Due to the violations the school faces two years of probation. Including vacating wins from the 2021 and 2022 season in which the ineligible players competed. The school must also pay a $3,700 fine and will see a reduction to 83 of official paid football recruiting visits during the 2024-25 and 2025-26 academic years, resulting in a 19.5% decrease of the average number of official paid visits in the football program during the previous two academic years.

Members of the former staff were hit with two-year show-cause orders that included suspensions and/or recruiting limitations for Josh Lynn and his assistant coaches. Lynn already sat out the last game of last season at West Texas A&M as part of his penalty. He released this statement through West Texas A&M communications to KRVN sports.

“In regards to the recent NCAA investigation, I take full responsibility as a head coach for the violations that occurred under my watch. To be clear, the NCAA ruled that violations did occur however no unethical conduct rules were broken. Moving forward, I will adhere to the consequences of the ruling and continue to abide by NCAA rules as my programs and I have always tried to do. I will have no further comment on this matter.”

The NCAA investigation found that the football staff booked cost-free one-way airfare for six football prospective student athletes to participate in preseason practice and/or enroll in classes, and the former football staff members arranged for one of the prospects to receive interim lodging after arriving on campus. The total value of the impermissible benefits was around $1,900.

As a result of the impermissible benefits, the three prospective student-athletes competed in several games but were ineligible. Due to those players participating in those games that season, UNK’s official record for 2021 now stands at 5-3, and 0-3 in 2022. According to the NCAA announcement, Nebraska-Kearney, Josh Lynn and the enforcement staff agree that the former head coach failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance because he was involved in, had knowledge of and approved of the practice.

Nebraska-Kearney and the enforcement staff also agree that Nebraska-Kearney failed to provide adequate education to the football staff and did not follow up on official visit paperwork after the compliance office preliminarily approved of expenses for two of the prospects via email.

Statement from Marc Bauer, UNK Director of Athletics

“We accept responsibility for the mistakes made within our program. Compliance with NCAA rules is a cornerstone of our athletic department, and we are committed to ensuring our student-athletes and staff uphold the highest standards of integrity.”
“While this situation is disappointing, it provides an opportunity to reflect and grow. Although this impacts our current staff and team, it does not reflect their mission or the values they represent as leaders. We have already implemented additional training and oversight to prevent future violations.”

“UNK Athletics is participating in the NCAA Blueprint Review Program, a comprehensive audit of our policies and procedures, to be completed in January 2025. We have also partnered with Teamworks Compliance and Communication Hub – an MIAA-endorsed platform – to improve oversight and documentation, with training for coaches and staff already underway.”