It hasn't been easy for Fresno State to come to terms with the severity of the NCAA rules violations by the men's basketball program. But it's time for Fresno State to admit that it ran a basketball program that was recklessly out of control during the seven-year coaching reign of Jerry Tarkanian that began in 1995. The university owes the community a full accounting of these transgressions.

These problems could lead to the basketball program facing more severe sanctions than the self-imposed penalties the university has already instituted. But that's not an unreasonable price to pay for allegedly allowing rules violations that include academic fraud, payments to some athletes, free meals to others, allowing academically ineligible players to play, failing to report possible violations involving player receiving benefits from a sports agency and giving improper financial aid to a player.

One of the most troubling aspects is that a former university vice president and a former athletic director appeared to have covered up at least one violation. That would be strong evidence that there was a "lack of institutional control" at Fresno State, an NCAA violation that historically has led to the most severe penalties.

The NCAA is investigating the allegations, and Fresno State officials will meet with association investigators Saturday in Kansas City, Mo. A decision on the final sanctions is expected to come from the NCAA later this summer.

The university's self-imposed sanctions include two years of probation for the men's basketball team and the athletic department, and the loss of three men's basketball scholarships between 2004 and 2006. This year's team, which was not involved in the violations, was not allowed to play in the postseason basketball tournaments.

But this isn't just about whether Fresno State will be banned from postseason play. The university's integrity is at stake, and its reputation continues to be tarnished by the perception that it would do just about anything to have a competitive basketball program.

Under coach Ray Lopes, the program is going in a positive direction, but his players felt the sting of the Tarkanian-era problems by not being able to continue their successful season into the playoffs.

When the university opens its campus arena, the Save Mart Center, next season, it will be bittersweet. There's little doubt that Tarkanian created the enthusiasm for people to contribute the money for the facility. While it will be among the finest arenas in the West, the road to building it has been rocky and many questions about the integrity of the university have been raised along the way.

Now Fresno State must give the community a full accounting of what transpired during a time when breaking the rules seemed to be accepted by everyone in charge. The university also must show that it has policies and procedures in place to ensure that this won't happen again.

This hasn't been the university's finest moment, and the drip, drip, drip of revelations about the basketball program have caused many people across the nation to conclude that Fresno State is a renegade institution.