NCAA Finds Scott Frost, Nebraska Football Committed Multiple Violations

The NCAA released their decision Monday morning on an investigation into the Nebraska football program.

The agreement from the Division I Committee on Infractions says the Nebraska football program violated NCAA rules for countable coaches and the head coach violated head coach responsibility rules.

The report says a former special teams analyst "provided technical or tactical instruction to student-athletes during practices and film sessions." It goes on to say the analyst also assisted in tactical decisions during games, and that because he was a noncoaching staff member, his instruction put Nebraska over the number of permissible coaches.

The agreement adds that the head coach, Scott Frost, addressed concerns with the analyst but not "appropriately monitor the analyst or notify compliance staff that violations had occurred." That put Frost in violation of head coach responsibility rules.

The penalties levied against Frost and the program include:

• A one-year extension to the current probationary period (through April 2023).
• A $10,000 fine.
• A one-year show-cause order for the football head coach, plus a five-day suspension from all coaching duties during the championship segment of the 2022 football season.
• A reduction of the number of football countable coaches by one for two days of practice during the spring 2022 season.
• All noncoaching staff members will be removed from practice and competition for five consecutive days during the championship segment of the 2022 season.

News of the NCAA investigation into NU came out ahead of the 2021 season, just weeks after Husker football chief of staff Gerrod Lambrecht left the program to start a business based around the newly allowed Name, Image, Likeness rules. The last special teams analyst for Big Red was Jonathan Rutledge for the 2020 season.

Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts issued a statement following the NCAA's decision:

“I am appreciative of the diligent efforts of our University of Nebraska staff in working to bring this matter to a close. We have had outstanding collaboration with the NCAA, and I want to thank the NCAA staff for their time and professionalism throughout this process.

“It is important for the Nebraska Athletic Department and football program to put this matter behind us and turn our full attention to the upcoming season. We are pleased with the outcome and believe the negotiated resolution is fair and equitable. At Nebraska we are committed to running an athletic department that is fully compliant with all NCAA rules.”

The first report of the investigation came from Brett McMurphy of the Action Network. He also claimed Nebraska moved workouts “to an undisclosed off-campus location” in 2020 when the NCAA had shut down all workouts due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though reference to such illegal workouts are not detailed in the agreement from the NCAA decision.