ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The NCAA has accused Michigan of five potentially major rules violations under coach Rich Rodriguez, who will nevertheless be back for a third season.

Incoming athletic director David Brandon disclosed the NCAA conclusions Tuesday, while expressing full support for his coach, who is 8-16 in two seasons heading the nation's winningest football program.

"Rich Rodriguez is our football coach, and he will be our football coach next year," Brandon said.

In its notice of allegations, which Michigan received Monday, the NCAA said Rodriguez "failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance within the football program." He didn't track what his staff was doing or make sure his players were following NCAA rules, particularly those limiting the time spent on practice and football-related activities, the report said.

It also said the athletic department failed to make sure its football program was complying with NCAA regulations. Brandon said the department "clearly made mistakes," but "there was no charge of loss of institutional control" — an allegation that in previous cases has led to severe NCAA sanctions for other schools.

An accompanying letter from the NCAA to university President Mary Sue Coleman said Michigan "should understand that all of the alleged violations set forth in the document" are considered to be "potential major violations of NCAA legislation, unless designated as secondary."

Brandon said he wasn't sure he understood "the difference between 'major' and 'minor' and 'secondary' and 'primary."'

"They spell it out very specifically in their own language," he said.

Another possible problem for Michigan is that it could be subject to the NCAA's repeat violator rule because it was sanctioned in 2003 for wrongdoing within the basketball program.

"We will make all necessary changes," Coleman said. "What we will not do is make excuses."

Michigan has 90 days to respond and will appear at an NCAA hearing on infractions in August. The school will see how its internal investigation matches up with the NCAA findings and will consider implementing self-imposed sanctions, a move that could reduce NCAA penalties.

The NCAA said last October that it was looking into the program following a report in the Detroit Free Press citing anonymous football players and concluding that Michigan exceeded NCAA limits regarding practices and workouts in 2008 and 2009.