SLIPPERY ROCK — Slippery Rock University soon will be the second collegiate institution in the country to adopt Tracy's Rule.

The university's decision to adopt the rule — designed to clear up confusion regarding past behavior of athletes transferring between schools — came after issues involving football cornerback Eric Glover-Williams, a transfer from Ohio State. He was enrolled at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in 2017 before coming to SRU.

Glover-Williams reportedly was suspended from OSU following allegations of sexual misconduct involving his girlfriend while attending the university's main campus in Columbus.

SRU football coach Shawn Lutz said he was unaware of that issue when he accepted Glover-Williams into his program. A two-year starter at SRU, Glover-Williams' athletic eligibility has expired.

“If there was a rape situation (at Ohio State), I had no clue,” Lutz said.

Lutz pointed out that Glover-Williams never was charged by authorities. He further stressed that no student-athlete transfer accepted into the program has been charged with any criminal offense.

“He had a dispute with his girlfriend. That was it. Eric played for Ohio State for two years after it happened,” he said.

Lutz added that in any transfer situation, “we do a thorough interview with the kid and his parents, talk to his coaches at the previous school, do all of the due diligence.”

SRU athletic director Paul Lueken said Williams was suspended from the Ohio State football program for a violation of campus probation.

“He came back and attended a football team meeting on campus when he shouldn't have,” Lueken said.

Glover-Williams' probation was a result of the incident with his girlfriend, Lutz said.

“He had to report to school officials when he came on campus, and he didn't do that,” SRU's coach said. “Eric did not disclose that information to us during the transfer process.”

Glover-Williams was suspended for the 2019 PSAC state championship game with Kutztown and The Rock's first NCAA Division II playoff game against Shepherd.

“We felt that was the appropriate punishment for not disclosing that (probation) information,” Lueken said.

Glover-Williams attended Canton McKinley High School in Ohio, where he was a first team all-state running back his senior year and second team all-state quarterback as a junior.

“He never had any off-field incidents in high school,” said Chris Beaven, sports editor of the Canton Repository. “He was never suspended for anything in high school, never even missed a game with an injury.”

Beaven said he believes Glover-Williams' decision to leave Ohio State had more to do with a lack of playing time than anything else.

“(OSU) wasn't sure what position to play him. He's not very big,” Beaven said.

Lutz is a Massillon (Ohio) native — he shares a hometown connection with Glover-Williams — and played football with Glover-Williams' father at West Virginia University.

“I've known Eric for a long time,” Lutz said. “He's a good kid. We believe kids should get a second chance when warranted.”

Lutz added that Glover-Williams is carrying a 2.8 grade point average as a communications major and needs one class to graduate, adding that Glover-Williams hopes to gain an NFL tryout as a cornerback.

Lueken said the only thing SRU did not do in researching Glover-Williams was talk to the social equity officer at Ohio State.

“We felt we had done enough research,” Lueken said. “I guess we should have taken that step.”

That's where Tracy's Rule comes into play. Named for Brenda Tracy — a victim of rape by collegiate athletes — the rule requires athletes to disclose any disciplinary proceedings in their past.

It also requires the Title IX coordinator at each transfer's previous colleges to sign a form stating if the athlete was involved in any criminal investigations.

SRU is only the second institution in the nation to adopt this rule. The University of Texas-San Antonio did so in September.

“We are definitely adopting the rule, but it's in the preliminary stages right now,” SRU sports information director Jon Holtz said. “There are steps to be taken. All of our coaches haven't even been informed of this yet.”

Any athlete found not to be truthful on required detailed questionnaires is susceptible to immediate dismissal from his or her respective athletic team and/or the university.

An appeal process would be available to any such athlete.

“I'm in favor of this rule,” Lutz said. “It's good that we're being proactive. We want to bring quality young people to this university.”

Lutz pointed out that the average GPA on SRU's football team is 2.8, comparing favorably to the NCAA Division II football average of 2.3.

“More than 90 percent of our football players graduate, and our goal is to get that team grade point average to 3.0,” he said. “Academics come first at this university; football comes second. We get that.”

SRU President William Behre was unavailable for comment.