T.K. Wetherell today described the course in question, a three-hour music history class, as "contaminated" and said changes have been made.

Although Wetherell has said in the past that the recent resignation of athletic director David Hart Jr. was not related to the incident, his statement suggested otherwise.

"The violations focused on a poorly structured online course, lack of attention to detail by a faculty member, and insufficient oversight by the athletic department of one rogue tutor — all coming together to result in a 'contaminated' class," Wetherell said in the statement.

Wetherell, who has been vacationing in Montana since the suspensions were announced Tuesday, said no coaches were involved and that many of the athletes simply used poor judgment.

"The student-athletes, who come from a number of sports, did not enroll in the course with the intent to do anything wrong," he said. "However, a university-employed tutor provided inappropriate help on exams. In the final analysis, these students made the decision to use the answers provided for an online exam, and they are suffering the consequences."

The school has suspended roughly two dozen football players, including some starters, for its Dec. 31 game against Kentucky in the Music City Bowl at Nashville, Tenn. Two players, receiver Joslin Shaw and defensive end Kevin McNeil, were suspended during the season.

This is the school's second serious brush with the NCAA in as many decades. The university received a five-year probation in 1994 after several of its players received free shoes and athletic gear from a sporting goods store at a mall.