College football: 2016 MAC Championship - December 2, 2016

Happier times: Western Michigan linebacker Robert Spillane celebrates the team's MAC championship win over Ohio with wide receiver Corey Davis. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

Reports of alleged improper recruiting by former Western Michigan football coach P.J. Fleck are unfounded, a University of Minnesota spokesman said.

Rumors swirled on social media Monday evening after the Broncos announced on Twitter that star linebacker Robert Spillane had requested and received a full release from the team.

Spillane is a junior and would be required to sit out one year if he transfers to another football program to play his final year of eligibility.

Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported there were no indications Spillane was transferring to Fleck's new team.

Minnesota associate athletics communications director Paul Rovnak denied allegations of impropriety.

"We are not recruiting any students from Western Michigan," Rovnak told the Star Tribune.

A report from WWMT in Kalamazoo, citing an anonymous source, stated Fleck had contacted Spillane about transferring but Spillane made his own statement on Twitter refuting that claim.

For his part, Spillane took to Twitter on Wednesday to dispel rumors about him transferring to Minnesota.

"Contrary to media reports this decision has nothing to do with PJ Fleck or the University of Minnesota," Spillane's statement read.