NCAA president Mark Emmert was alerted to 37 reports of alleged sexual assault by Michigan State athletes at a meeting in 2010, soon after he was hired, according to a report in The Athletic.
According to The Athletic, the meeting occurred in Indianapolis in November 2010 -- six months after Emmert's hiring.
Emmert met with Kathy Redmond, the founder of the National Coalition Against Violent Athletes, and received a letter from her dated Nov. 17, 2010, that detailed the allegations about MSU athletes sexually assaulting women. Also in attendance alongside Emmert and Redmond was legal expert Wendy Murphy, according to the website.
"Mark Emmert was brand-new, and he'd initially said, 'One sexual assault is one too many,'" Redmond told The Athletic in a story published Friday. "As soon as I heard that, I thought I might have an ally."
Redmond also raised concerns about former Michigan State president Lou Anna Simon and how the school handled a police report a woman filed accusing two MSU basketball players of sexual assault. Redmond also sent copies of the letter to the members of the NCAA board of governors, which included Simon.
In a follow-up letter to Redmond and Murphy after the November 2010 meeting, Emmert said he was sincere in making "proper NCAA student-athlete conduct a priority" and detailed several examples of NCAA efforts to address sexual assaults on campuses.
Simon resigned from her position at Michigan State on Wednesday night -- hours after Larry Nassar, a former university and USA Gymnastics doctor, received a 40- to 175-year sentence in state prison for sexually assaulting female athletes.
ESPN's Outside the Lines published a report Friday that outlined a history of mishandling sexual assault allegations within Michigan State's athletic department. The report discovered a "pattern of widespread denial, inaction and information suppression" of sexual assault allegations. Athletic director Mark Hollis retired Friday morning, hours before the report was published. Acting president Bill Beekman said he was not aware of the report at the conclusion of Friday's meeting of the board of trustees.
The NCAA said on Tuesday it would be opening an investigation of MSU's handling of the Nassar case.