Syracuse University’s basketball program is under investigation by the NCAA, CBSSports.com reported Wednesday.

The university received a letter of preliminary inquiry, which notifies the school it is under investigation, according to the report.

The NCAA has been looking into the program for several years, CBS Sports reported. The report said the violations are “major” and “wide-ranging.” The investigation involves football, but mostly concerns the basketball program, according to the report.

When approached in San Jose, Calif., at the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday, Athletic Director Daryl Gross declined to comment. A spokesman in the Syracuse Athletic Department referred comment to Kevin Quinn, senior vice president for public affairs.

“As we said last year at this time, we are collaborating with the NCAA as part of an ongoing inquiry,” Quinn said in an email. “Given this process is ongoing, we are unable to comment further at this time.”

The investigation into the program has become more expansive as it has progressed, CBS Sports reported.

In March of last year, Yahoo! Sports reported the NCAA was investigating whether Syracuse violated its team drug policy. Ten players since 2001 had tested positive for a banned recreational substance or substances, but were allowed to continue playing, according to the Yahoo! Sports report.

Investigators from the NCAA have been conducting interviews with current and former SU employees, The Post-Standard reported. The issues related to the investigation include Fab Melo’s academic ineligibility last season and an alleged sexual assault case in 2007, which involved three former members of the basketball team, The Post-Standard reported.

Last year, Melo missed three games during the regular season for an academic issue. On March 13, 2012, he was deemed ineligible for the NCAA Tournament, just two days before Syracuse’s first tournament game.

The NCAA is looking into the program’s academic records, which relates to Melo’s situation from last season, The Post-Standard reported.

This season, James Southerland was declared ineligible Jan. 12 for an academic-related issue. He missed six games, but returned after he won an appeal hearing.

The 2007 case started when a female in the College of Arts and Sciences filed a complaint with the Department of Public Safety, alleging former Syracuse basketball players Rick Jackson, Jonny Flynn and Scoop Jardine sexually assaulted her.

In 2008, the players and a fourth male SU student not on the basketball team were cleared of both criminal and university charges.

After The Post-Standard reported the current NCAA investigation is looking into the 2007 case, Quinn issued a statement Wednesday that said the NCAA told SU it is not investigating the 2007 incident or anything related to it.

“That matter was adjudicated and resolved through both the grand jury and student judicial processes five years ago,” Quinn said in the statement.

Cathryn Newton, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 2008 at the time of the case, declined to comment on whether the NCAA contacted her.

“There was a case in which the process did not go forward in a fair and timely way despite repeated efforts and energy of both the complainant and the College of Arts and Sciences,” Newton said.

Samuel Gorovitz, a professor of philosophy, spoke with the NCAA in 2007 or 2008 regarding the case.

“It seemed clear to me that there was an apparent violation of the appropriate process in the handling of the complaint,” Gorovitz said. He emphasized his problem rested “purely in the behavior of the central administration,” which he said interfered with the normal judicial process.

Gorovitz contacted then-NCAA President Myles Brand, who he knew from the American Philosophical Association. Gorovitz said Brand then had his head of enforcement, David Didion, contact him.

Brand died in 2009.

Gorovitz said he has had no involvement with the NCAA’s recent inquiries, nor has he been in contact with the NCAA since 2007 or 2008.

The NCAA investigation is not related to the allegations in 2011 against former men’s basketball assistant coach Bernie Fine.

The Syracuse men’s basketball team is in San Jose for the NCAA Tournament. The Orange plays the Montana Grizzlies on Thursday night, with tipoff scheduled for 9:57 p.m.

—Staff Writer Michael Cohen, mjcohe02@syr.edu, contributed reporting to this article

Published on March 20, 2013 at 4:47 pm

Contact Dara: dkmcbrid@syr.edu | @daramcbride