RENO -- A lawyer for Nevada's former women's soccer coach who claims she was fired partly because she complained about NCAA rules violations said Friday he believes the NCAA is looking into the allegations.

``I have reason to believe they are aware,'' said Jeff Dickerson, who filed a lawsuit against the university Thursday on behalf of the former coach, Terri Patraw.

Patraw was a former high school coach in Madison, Wis. In college, she was a starter on Wisconsin's Final Four squad in 1988 and was elected to her high school's athletic hall of fame in Arden Hills, Minn.

University President Milton Glick also confirmed for the first time Friday that ``we previously informed the NCAA that Ms. Patraw alleges to have information about violations.''

``The allegations that have been reported to us have been appropriately investigated, addressed and reported to the NCAA. If more are made known, they, too, will be investigated, addressed and reported,'' he said in a statement Friday afternoon.

Glick, who is named as one of the defendants in the lawsuit, declined to describe the alleged violations. It was not immediately clear whether the violations he was referring to were the same as the ones Patraw claims she was fired over.

Dickerson and Patraw both said they cannot comment on the specific violations.

``A confidentiality agreement between her and the NCAA prevents her from talking about that,'' Dickerson told The Associated Press.

A spokeswoman for the NCAA said Friday she would look into the matter but that the organization had no immediate comment.

The lawsuit filed in Washoe County District Court claims Patraw was fired in August in retaliation for complaining about the rules violations as well as allegations of discrimination against her players. She also said she was subjected to sexual harassment.

The other defendants named in the lawsuit are Nevada athletic director Cary Groth, school lawyer Mary Dugan and the Nevada System of Higher Education.

Patraw, who led the Wolf Pack to their best record ever and first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2006, said she was given no reason for her firing in late August.

Groth told the Reno Gazette-Journal in August that Patraw had submitted her resignation.

But Patraw told AP on Friday that was not correct. She said she had warned that she was going to resign but never did.

``I never submitted a resignation and they know that,'' Patraw said, declining further comment on the specifics of her allegations.

``I very much look forward to the truth coming out,'' she said. ``This isn't the lawsuit we wanted to file but it is about the truth. The community deserves to know the truth.''

Glick said Friday he supported Groth's decision to terminate Patraw's contract.

The lawsuit seeks Patraw's reinstatement and unspecified restitution.

Patraw also has filed an administrative whistleblower complaint with the Nevada Department of Personnel. A hearing on that complaint is set for Jan. 17 at the university's student union, Dickerson said.

``If we win, if she proves she was terminated because of the disclosures she made, she gets her job back,'' Dickerson said.

The lawsuit said that as a result of the firing Patraw suffered past and future damages, ``including emotional distress, mental anguish, harm to reputation, humiliation, grief, loss of enjoyment of life, embarrassment, harm to career.''

The value of those damages will be proved at trial, the suit said.

Patraw complained to an unnamed supervisor ``regarding matters of public concern, to include violations of NCAA regulations which govern national collegiate sports,'' the lawsuit said.

She also complained about ``discriminatory treatment against students and players involved in her athletic program,'' the lawsuit said.

Patraw was ``informed and believes that Groth feared that plaintiff had taken or would take these concerns outside'' the university, the lawsuit said. ``This was, (Patraw) is informed and believes, an additional motivating factor for her termination.''

Patraw (pronounced PAT-truh) coached Arizona State to a No. 13 national ranking in 2000 then took three years off to get her masters degree in business at the school before she was hired at Nevada in 2004.