California University of Pennsylvania will have an external review of their NCAA Division-II college football program. The program has come under fire after six players were arrested in connection with an October assault.
The Compliance Group, a Lenexa, Kansas based company, will conduct the review. The Compliance Group (TCG) will be examining all aspects of the school’s football program.
“I welcome the knowledge and experience The Compliance Group will bring to the review of our football program.” Interim University President Geraldine Jones said in a statement released on the school’s website. “Cal U will cooperate fully with TCG’s work and make every effort to expedite the process. I look forward to receiving the group’s recommendations.”
The school decided that to have an honest review, they needed to look outside the institution. “It seemed like a wise choice to preserve the integrity of the review and be sure that the results were credible,” said spokesperson Christine Kindl.
Cal U’s contract with TCG runs through June, but the school hopes to receive the group’s findings before then. The review will not affect any of the school’s other athletic programs.
The school’s stated goal is to “have a football program that recruits, retains, and graduates student-athletes who embrace the opportunities afforded by a Cal U education, and who understand the obligations associated with being part of a living-learning community.”
In late October, six California University football players allegedly assaulted a man outside an off-campus establishment. Five players were initially arrested. A sixth later turned himself in to police. Due to the arrests, the school forfeited its November 1 game against Gannon. Formal arraignment in the players’ case is scheduled for January 26.
Four other players were arrested in two separate incidents earlier in the season. Pittsburgh’s WPXI-TV has reported that as many as 26 players on this season’s squad have some type of criminal record.
The Vulcans finished the season with an 8-3 record and tied for third in the PSAC West.
