The University of Southern California men's rugby team has issued a statement in the wake of the team receiving a suspension from the University.

The statement, reprinted in its entirety below, explains why the team received the suspension:

In order to prevent idle speculation, the Men's Rugby Club at USC wants to inform our alumni, family, fans and supporters that, as a student run organization under the Recreational Sports department at USC, our suspension arose from failure to comply with University administrative policies and procedures. In the Spring of 2016 the Club failed to submit required documentation to compete off-campus, thus putting us on probation for the Fall semester.  During this time, the Club failed to request and receive approval to share training time and field space with another USC club.

While we are disappointed to find ourselves in this situation, especially given all the positive things we have accomplished on the field over the past year, the Men's Rugby Club at USC will rededicate ourselves to acting as better stewards and representatives of University. We will come back stronger and more organized.