Scott Farmer Responds To NCAA Ruling [VIDEO]

The Ragin' Cajuns finally know what their punishment is from the NCAA, and Athletic Director Scott Farmer breathed a sigh of relief.

After several years of investigation into the activities of former Ragin' Cajun Football Assistant Coach David Saunders, the NCAA informed the university this week of their verdict. Thanks to a thorough self-investigation and self-imposed fines, the university skirted the biggest blow.

"The penalties do not include a postseason ban," Farmer said. It felt so good he actually said it twice in a row, and he later added, "We committed to finding the truth ourselves through our own investigation."

The news was set to break last week, but Farmer said a simple clerical error held up the process. No conspiracy theories, just a simple slip up. The major surprise from the university came in the form of a lawsuit against ACT INC. that could result in a serious payout.

Since the circumstances around the testing were so abnormal (distance from their hometown, shocking increases in scores, etc.), the university might be trying to make the case that one of the largest and most depended on testing entities in the country should have been able to catch the issue in their own house.

"We think that there is another entity that could have stopped this taking place on our campus," Farmer said.

In terms of technicalities, Farmer clarified that the university will look into the 2012-2014 seasons and will be forced to vacate any wins from games ineligible players participated. He couldn't put a number on how many games will be vacated, but he guaranteed they wouldn't have to vacate entire seasons.

Ultimately, the independent actions of Saunders came back on the university. They handled it in house, but the NCAA was still forced to deal with the situation in their own way.

"They're just punishing us because he was our employee, period," Farmer said. He admitted still feeling angry toward Saunders as well, "One employee tarnished this great university and this department."

On a brighter note, Farmer said every single player involved in the case went through reinstatement and are reinstated again.

The last piece of the puzzle, when it comes to figuring out exactly what happened, is the payment. Who paid for the ACT testing? Farmer passionately denied any involvement from the university, and he said the university had no knowledge of any payment. Saunders' refusal to cooperate in the investigation may keep the public from ever finding that answer.

The reduction in scholarships and official visits will hurt the Cajuns, but things could have been much worse. Farmer and the rest of Cajun Nation will live to fight another day, and they could be back in bowl season next year.

"As Ragin' Cajuns, we are strong and we will persevere...but when we're done with this, we're done," Farmer said.

Watch Scott Farmer's full press conference in the video above.