Howard looks into possible violations

WASHINGTON — Howard said it has prevented some of its athletes from competing while the school investigates possible violations of NCAA rules.

A statement released Wednesday by university spokesperson Kerry-Ann Hamilton said most of Howard’s teams “will compete as scheduled.”

But the school says “a number of student-athletes” were “temporarily withheld” as a “self-imposed action” during the investigation. The statement didn’t say which sports were affected.

NCAA spokesman Erik Christenson declined a request for comment, referring questions to Howard.

Founded in 1867, Howard is a private university with about 10,500 students. Its football team has two winning seasons in the past 13 years; its men’s basketball team hasn’t had a winning season since 2001-02. The Bison women’s basketball team lost in the first round of the WNIT in 2011-12.