Oct 21, 2014 03:25 PM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Oklahoma State University (OSU) and the NCAA have released a joint statement announcing allegations of widespread violations in the school's football program brought forth by Sports Illustrated are "fundamentally unfounded."

According to the statement, staff from the NCAA's Enforcement Office and from OSU collaborated on a massive review, interviewing about 100 individuals and combing through up to 50,000 emails. With OSU cooperating fully, the NCAA is expected to "issue a notice of allegations detailing three possible Level II violations."

ESPN also reported conducting a thorough review of the related information with their own investigators and found many inaccuracies in the reporting.

"I am pleased that the independent inquiry did not substantiate the primary contentions contained in the Sports Illustrated articles. Nevertheless, we take the remaining matters very seriously and will undertake the appropriate actions," Mike Holder, vice president of athletics at OSU, said in the statement. "As I said last year after I learned about the Sports Illustrated series, we strive to comply with the rules and operate with integrity. We want our loyal fans to be proud of our teams and our athletic program. I appreciate Coach Gundy and every one of our coaches for their desire to do things the right way."

Published in five parts, the SI series detailed extensive and systematic NCAA rules violations within the OSU football program that included paying players in cash, throwing girls at potential recruits, allowing drug use and more.

"The claims in the Sports Illustrated articles were so at odds with my experiences with our football program, Coach [Mike] Gundy and [athletic director] Mike Holder," Oklahoma State president Burns Hargis told ESPN. "They were so salacious and sensational, but I wanted to get a very in-depth look at this. Maybe I was naïve or didn't know. That's why we hired Chuck. I wanted to know."

After the report came out the NCAA looked into the allegations to see if the claims had any merit and OSU hired an outside consultant, Chuck Smrt, to help. A former NCAA official himself, Smrt and his one-time colleagues found no evidence to support SI's biggest claims.

An unnamed source told ESPN the violations OSU should receive only carry a punishment of up to two lost scholarships for two years.

"While I am pleased, but not surprised, that the claims in Sports Illustrated were fundamentally unfounded, we continue to work with the athletics administration to ensure a clear understanding and application of our policies," Gundy said in the statement. "From the moment I was chosen to coach my alma mater, I have made decisions to create a NCAA compliant environment, while ensuring student-athlete welfare. I love my players and want them to succeed in life by making good decisions and respecting the rules."

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