Howard University announced on Wednesday that it was suspending all athletic programs effective immediately for apparent NCAA rules violations.

Washington City Paper first obtained a statement from the university that announced the stunning move to curtail all sports despite some teams just starting their seasons.

It is with great regret that we have temporarily suspended intercollegiate athletic competition, Kerry-Ann Hamilton said in a statement. This is a self-imposed action while the University conducts a review. We are working quickly to resolve this issue.

John Infante, the main man behind the Bylaw Blog, said on Twitter that this is the first time in the post-SMU death penalty period that any school suspended its entire athletic department. It's unclear currently what prompted the move, but it's fair to infer that there must be some massive alleged violations for the school to suspend all of its sports effective immediately.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

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