NAIA Responds To Huntington (Ind.) Scandal With Penalties Following Coach Nick Johnson's Guilty Verdict

By David Woods for DyeStat

In the aftermath of a doping and sex scandal, the NAIA has sanctioned the Huntington University (Ind.) athletic director and banned the cross country teams from this year’s national championships.

The announcement was made in an NAIA violations report.

The NAIA placed Huntington on probation through the 2026-27 academic year for violations of the NAIA code of ethics. Athletic director Lori Culler received personal probation through the 2024-2025 academic year.

The action comes days after a jury found former Huntington coach Nick Johnson guilty of sexual battery. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 17. The charge, a level 6 felony, carries a minimum sentence of six months and a maximum of 2 1/2 years. 

The NAIA did not supply specifics of the violations. Neither did the college sports governing body announce any of Huntington’s achievements would be annulled.

Hannah Stoffel and Emma Wilson won NAIA cross country titles for Huntington in November 2019 and April 2021, respectively. They told The Indianapolis Star they now question the validity of their success because they said they were injected with unidentified substances. Stoffel also said the 2020 national indoor track team title should be stripped from the Foresters.

Huntington’s women were sixth in last year’s NAIA cross country meet for their best finish ever. Addy Wiley won the individual title, then left the school to turn pro.

Johnson was fired by Huntington in December 2020 after being charged with felony counts of child seduction, kidnapping and identity deception in an incident involving a high school runner. In that criminal case, he was accused of contacting the family of the runner — posing as an official at the University of Oregon — to arrange a recruiting trip, according to police and court records. Instead, a detective with the Huntington Police Department reported, Johnson and the runner spent the weekend at motels in Portland and Eugene, Ore.

Johnson pleaded to a felony charge of identity deception. In exchange, the prosecutor dropped the child seduction and kidnapping charges. He served 30 days in jail, followed by 150 days on electronic monitoring. So he will be going to jail for a second time.

Huntington promoted Johnson’s wife, Lauren, a Huntington graduate and elite runner, to fill his coaching job. Lauren Johnson was suspended by the school in October 2022 and has left the university. She continues to coach Wiley.

Contact David Woods at dwoods1411@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.