ST. PAUL — University of Minnesota athletic officials were notified this summer about a “concerning pattern” of sexual harassment and sexual assault allegations against Gopher football players over the past year, according to an email obtained through an open records request.

Players were accused of sexual assault on two occasions, and the school’s Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action office also handled two separate allegations of sexual harassment involving groups of football players, according to the July 16 email sent by director Kim Hewitt. The school also fielded concerns about a group of players retaliating, but provided no other details.

The school did not investigate either sexual violence allegation or one of the harassment allegations because the reporting students didn’t want to proceed with an investigation, Hewitt wrote in the email. One of the players involved in a sexual harassment complaint was found to have violated harassment policies, and the school found some “concerning behavior” on the part of football players after investigating the retaliation accusation. No one on the team’s more than 100-man roster has been publicly suspended or otherwise disciplined this season.

The university declined to identify the players allegedly involved in the incidents, citing a need to protect the identity of the students who reported the events.

Interim athletics director Beth Goetz said each complaint was “fully investigated to the extent that they could be.”

“One report of sexual assault or harassment is one too many and we took prompt, responsive action to investigate when notified of these reports,” Goetz said in a prepared statement. “Coach (Jerry) Kill has a strong track record of dealing with student-athlete issues as soon as they arise.”

Kill told the Star-Tribune he was aware of one allegation involving a current player that was referred to administrators and to police.

“I’ve taken care of the report that we received on a young man. We turned it into the administration and it was handled by the administration,” he told the newspaper.