ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The NCAA has penalized the University of New Mexico with three years of probation for academic fraud within the football program.

The NCAA infractions committee today also imposed scholarship reductions and limited the number of paid visits provided to prospective football players.

The committee concluded that two former Lobo assistants improperly helped one player and three recruits in 2004 to obtain fraudulent academic credits through correspondence courses at Fresno Pacific University.

The school already had self-imposed some penalties, including two years of probation, after reviewing the coaches' actions.