Michigan State head football coach Mel Tucker has been suspended pending the outcome of an investigation into sexual harassment allegations, according to multiple reports Sunday.

USA Today reported late Saturday that Brenda Tracy — a prominent rape survivor, activist and public speaker — had accused the 51-year-old Tucker of making sexual comments and masturbating without her consent during a 2022 phone call. Tracy reportedly filed a complaint with Michigan State’s Title IX office, which remains under investigation.

Tucker — who is married with two college-age sons — has claimed he and Tracy had consensual “phone sex.” Tucker will be suspended with pay until the outcome of a Title IX hearing scheduled for early October.

One report surfaced Sunday afternoon saying Tucker had been fired outright, but that appears not to be the case. A Michigan State news conference has been scheduled for 4 p.m. Central Sunday to “provide an update on the football program.”

Defensive backs coach Harlan Barnett will serve as Spartans interim coach, according to multiple reports. Mark D’Antonio, Michigan State’s head coach from 2007-19, is also expected to return in an advisory role.

According to the USA Today report, Tracy visited the Michigan State campus three times, twice to speak to the Spartans team and once to be an honorary captain at the spring game. Tracy has used her platform to raise awareness of sexual assault in college sports after she was gang-raped by four Oregon State football players more than 25 years ago.

“The idea that someone could know me and say they understand my trauma but then re-inflict that trauma on me is so disgusting to me, it’s hard for me to even wrap my mind around it,” Tracy told USA Today. “It’s like he sought me out just to betray me.”

The issue is a particularly sensitive one at Michigan State, which was once home to disgraced U.S.A. gymnastics physician Larry Nasser. In 2017, Nasser was sentenced to more than 100 years in prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting more than 300 female athletes during an 18-year period beginning in 1996.

Tucker, the defensive backs coach on Alabama’s 2015 national championship team who later was defensive coordinator for Kirby Smart at Georgia, is in his fourth season as head coach at Michigan State. He is one of the highest-paid coaches in the sport, having signed a 10-year, $95-million contract late in the 2021 season.

Michigan State is 2-0 this season after beating Richmond 45-14 on Saturday. The Spartans host No. 8 Washington next weekend.