Mary Hardin-Baylor to vacate 2016 Division III championship

Published Oct. 10, 2019 3:11 p.m. ET

BELTON, Texas (AP) — The NCAA has ordered Mary Hardin-Baylor to vacate its 2016 Division III national championship because the head football coach let a player use his car for more than 18 months, which was determined to be an improper benefit for a student-athlete.

The NCAA announced its findings Thursday and said it would vacate any victories in which ineligible athletes played. The school said that would include 29 victories over the 2016-2017 seasons and the 2016 championship, a 10-7 win over Wisconsin-Oshkosh. School officials said they will appeal that punishment.

The NCAA said coach Pete Fredenburg loaned a player his 2006 Subaru for the 2016-2017 seasons. He then loaned it to another player, but the car broke down within an hour and had to be towed.

Fredenburg said in a statement he "unintentionally" broke the rules. He was previously suspended by the school for three months without pay and sat out the first three games of the 2018 season.