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Athletics Director Paul Krebs discusses the NCAA's allegations of violations by the UNM football program (video 1 of 2). Watch »

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Athletics Director Paul Krebs discusses the NCAA's allegations of violations by the UNM football program (video 2 of 2). Watch »

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The NCAA alleges members of the University of New Mexico's football coaching staff might have committed serious violations in 2004 and 2005 in an attempt to help players obtain fraudulent course credit from another school in order to be eligible for the Lobos.

UNM held a news conference today to announce that it had received official notification of the allegations from the NCAA, the body that oversees intercollegiate athletics.

The university said the allegations involve three members of the football staff - two of whom are no longer with the program.

According to the notice of allegations, which redacted individual coaches' and players' names, coaches are alleged to have:

Provided improper benefits to four prospective players and one athlete already in school by arranging for them to enroll in and receive "improper" course credit from Fresno Pacific University in Fresno, Calif.

Lied about involvement in a scheme to register players at Fresno Pacific and offer to pay for the courses.

Provided misleading information to UNM and the NCAA enforcement staff about the connection to Fresno Pacific.

Spoke to a witness about the investigation and "provided false and misleading" information to the enforcement staff and UNM.

Two of the five players involved competed for the Lobos. No current players are involved in the allegations.

UNM pointed out that the NCAA does not accuse the program of lacking institutional control - a critical matter - and did not target head coach Rocky Long.

However, the notice of allegations painstakingly details a scheme in which coaches used their contacts with an instructor at Fresno Pacific to enroll players in courses that they passed without having done any work.

The NCAA also alleges:

Some Lobos coaches offered to assist in paying for courses at Fresno Pacific.

A coach provided his university-issued telephone number as the phone number for a player enrolling in correspondence courses at Fresno Pacific.

Athletes told investigators that a coach said they would receive credit for a Fresno Pacific course without having to complete any work.

A coach denied "he had registered or had any knowledge of other coaches registering prospective student-athletes in Fresno Pacific correspondence courses when, in fact, the coach had registered or assisted . . . them in their Fresno Pacific courses."

A UNM coach told enforcement investigators that he had never communicated with Fresno Pacific instructors when, in fact, he had placed at least 17 calls to instructor Fern Zahlen between February 2004 and January 2006.

Zahlen, a course instructor at Fresno Pacific, appears to be a key player in the investigation. Her name appears throughout the allegations as a contact person at the California school.

UNM Athletics Director Paul Krebs said he was made aware of the alleged violations in the summer of 2006, not long after taking the Lobos job.

"As serious as NCAA allegations are - and this certainly is serious - I think it's important to understand that it's been the individual conduct that's been cited," Krebs said. "There have been no allegations leveled at the university. No allegations of lack of institutional control."

UNM plans to respond to the allegations in writing by Dec. 7. After that, the university will have a hearing before the NCAA Infractions Committee in the spring of 2008.

"We've done, I believe, everything in our power to fully cooperate with the NCAA," Krebs said, later noting, "Intentional violations of NCAA rules is simply something that no athletic program can tolerate."

UNM has retained outside counsel to help in the investigation.

The Lobos were en route to Tucson for a game Saturday night at Arizona. Long was unavailable for comment.

"You all know Rocky in this room," Krebs said at the Friday news conference. "Nobody loves this university more. I'm convinced that he would never, ever do anything intentionally to hurt this university."