September 25, 1998
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University plans to submit its response to allegations against the men's basketball program from the NCAA by the middle of October.
Athletic Director Morgan Burke says, "For over six months, we have worked to gain agreement on the scope and date for an interview with a former student-athlete whose conclusions are central to the allegations in the NCAA inquiry. Repeatedly, as discussions continued with his legal advisors, we were forced to seek extensions while we worked to either get an interview arranged or be told no interview would be granted. Finally, that interview was held and concluded late last week.
"While we did not anticipate any of the conclusions to have changed, we were puzzled by additional inconsistencies that surfaced. Our legal counsel received the transcript of that interview on September 21 and needs a brief period to reconcile its contents with our analysis to date in order to make as complete a response as possible.
"As such," Burke continues, "we have sought and have been granted an extension beyond our September 25 deadline to complete our response. Even though the extension sets the new deadline as October 30th, we expect to submit our report in the next few weeks. We want to conclude our review as quickly as possible in an attempt to bring resolution to this matter. A public statement will be made when the report is submitted."
Burke went on to note that, "This is a difficult situation for Purdue and the NCAA because it centers on the credibility and consistency of statements from a few individuals. There are no witnesses to verify much of what's been alleged and the versions are dramatically different. We are doing our best to fulfill our responsibility to determine the validity of the allegations consistent with the NCAA standard that determinations will be based on evidence that is credible, persuasive and of a kind on which reasonably prudent persons rely in the conduct of serious affairs."
Purdue announced on March 2 it received confirmation that the NCAA would conduct an official inquiry into three allegations of violations in the Boilermaker men's program.