Aztecs coach vows full cooperation in SDSU probe into football player rape allegation

San Diego State University head football coach Brady Hoke on Wednesday said the team would “cooperate fully” in the investigation into allegations that several players raped a high school girl at an off-campus party last fall.

The coach addressed the investigation — but did not take questions — at the top of a news conference in advance of the team’s fall camp, which opens Friday.

On Monday, SDSU President Adela de la Torre said the school had just launched its own inquiry into the allegations, nine months after being told by San Diego police to hold off in order to avoid interfering with the criminal investigation. The university said the police notified school officials on July 22 that a “vital portion” of the criminal investigation had been completed, allowing SDSU to proceed with its administrative review.

The young woman, who was 17 at the time of the alleged attack, and her father spoke out publicly last week about their frustrations with the school’s lack of action.

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Little has been released about the police investigation, other than confirmation that one was still active.

“SDPD has not yet confirmed names of suspects or any charges to SDSU in the case in which student-athletes are alleged to have been involved,” Hoke said Wednesday.

“We are committed to hold accountable students found to have violated ... university policies.”

Hoke said that the team and its staff will assist the investigation in any way they can, and that their “hearts go out truly to the victim.”

“Being a father myself, joined by others on the staff, we will not tolerate this type of alleged behavior within our football program,” he said.

Hoke closed his comments by saying the criminal investigation and SDSU’s now-active process prevented him from discussing the matter further.

He pivoted to his thoughts on fall camp and then took questions about the upcoming season.

At one point, a reporter returned to the rape allegations with a more general question: “Coming into this year, what steps are you taking to make sure that things like this aren’t happening this year with your players?”

Hoke began to answer but was interrupted by an athletic department media relations official, who reiterated that “as Coach mentioned, he cannot share any details at this time and I direct you to the public website providing information about the off-campus incident and the actions the university continues to take.”