As NASCAR trends toward a younger generation of drivers, a number of them are also college students.  One driver – William Byron who drives the number 24 Hendricks Motorsports car – even has his college as a major sponsor for his race car.

But, recent events may put that sponsorship in jeopardy…

On March 5, the Department of Education announced that the Christian school Liberty University has been fined $14 million – approximately the same amount as a single season of sponsorship for a NASCAR Cup Series team – for failure to disclose criminal and sexual assault cases on the campus.

The Clery Act violation – a law that requires all colleges and universities who receive federal funding to notify students of all crimes and threats to students and potential students.  The fine is the largest ever levied for the violation.

The Lynchburg, Virgina university has over 15,000 students enrolled but a single police officer on duty with limited ability to oversee and investigate any complaint or alleged crime.

According to the U.S. Department of Education there were numerous occasions of misclassification, underreporting of crimes, and labels of unfounded or false reports; especially in regard to accounts of sexual assault.

The report indicates that not only were some of the victims reluctant to report the crime and resulting in a “culture of silence”; but instead were charged with violating the university coddle of conduct while their assailants were not punished.

In a statement, Liberty University said that they were, “fully committed to maintaining the safety and security of students and staff without exception”.  Noting that they have made over $10 million worth of improvements in the past couple of years toward compliance with the Clery Act; the university stated they would continue to work with the Department of Education.  However, Liberty states that they have been the victims of “endured selective and unfair treatment by the department.”

Co-founder of the alumni organization that advocates for change Save 71, Dustin Wahl noted that the university is trying to shift blame; saying, “Liberty should be apologizing to the students who have been harmed over the years and demonstrating a commitment to change.  Not because they are being dragged along by the government, but because they genuinely want to be transparent and fix the problems.”

The issues came to light after 12 female students filed a lawsuit that accused the university of “of fostering an unsafe environment and mishandling cases of sexual assault and harassment.”

Jerry Falwell Jr was the president of the university at the time of the suit; but has since left the post.

It is reported that Liberty University has an operating revenue of $1.2 billion with net assets of $3.5 billion.

Liberty University was founded by Jerry Falwell Sr in 1971.  Today the university has a campus population of over 15,000 with another 100,000+ pursuing degrees online.

Feature photos credit: Liberty University LaHaye Student Union IMG 4121.JPG