EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - SEPTEMBER 27: Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly talks with Everett Golson #5 during their game against the Syracuse Orange at MetLife Stadium September 27, 2014 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

Notre Dame may be forced to vacate its best season in the last 20 years

Yikes.

It looks like Notre Dame's bad season got even worse.

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The Irish are already reeling with a 4-7 record this season, but things appear to be getting worse, as the NCAA released a report on Tuesday indicating that up to nine football players from the 2012 and 2013 seasons received impermissible benefits.

A former University of Notre Dame student athletic trainer violated NCAA ethical conduct rules when she committed academic misconduct for two football student-athletes and provided six other football student-athletes with impermissible academic extra benefits, according to a Division I Committee on Infractions panel. One additional football student-athlete committed academic misconduct on his own.

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Punishments appear to include one year of probation and a $5,000 fine. The report also seems to indicate that Notre Dame may have to vacate records from the 2012 and 2013 football season for games in which the offending student-athletes played.

The 2012 Notre Dame season is notable for being the Fighting Irish's best since 1988. Notre Dame was 12-0 in the regular season before suffering a loss to Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game.