It’s over.

Auburn is free and clear of any major violation.

The NCAA said so, provided no new additional information should surface, which after more than a year of looking and dozens and dozens of interviews — and considering the NCAA never issued Auburn a Letter of Inquiry or asked it to meet with the Committee of Infractions — doesn’t seem likely.

And it’s not just the Cam Newton investigation. The “HBO Four” allegations were spiked, too.

But did anyone really think that one had any legs? Really?

Only one of the quartet — Raven Gray — would talk to the NCAA. According the letter the NCAA sent Auburn on Tuesday (and was released to the media Wednesday), Stanley McClover, Troy Reddick and Chaz Ramsey all refused to be interviewed about their allegations made on “Real Sports” back in the spring.

And Gray’s claims couldn’t be substantiated — even after the NCAA talked to him and his family — and “in some instances were disputed by others.”

Hmm.

The biggest news, however, is that the Cam Newton Saga has ended.

All along, Auburn defended itself and its Heisman Trophy winning quarterback that they had no knowledge of a pay-for-play deal, even though the NCAA and Auburn did conclude last November that
Newton’s father, Cecil, and street agent Kenny Rogers did try to concoct a scheme to get money — unsuccessfully — from Mississippi State during Cam’s recruitment in 2009.

Now, the NCAA officially agrees with what Auburn screamed from the mountain tops all along: that nothing happened on the Plains.

No money. No unmarked bills. No gunman behind the grassy knoll. No bag man. No nothing.

The NCAA said in its letter that it received an “extensive number” of personal IRS statements, phone records, emails and other documents from Newton and reviewed them during its 13-month investigation and nothing came up.

The NCAA even conducted “over 50 interviews” and … nada.

Shocked?

Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs wasn’t.

Gene Chizik wasn’t.

Cam Newton, especially, wasn’t.

“I could have told you that,” Newton told the Charlotte Observer on Wednesday evening.

And he did back in November. Remember?

So did Auburn. A lot.

Maybe now everyone will believe them.

Even though it’s not protocol, for the NCAA to announce that it ended this particular investigation is proper. It was the right thing to do, because in a lot of people’s minds, Auburn was guilty until proven innocent.

And no other story captivated the college football world like this one. Ever.

The NCAA had no other choice. This was never going to go away unless the NCAA came out and made it. Ever.

Finally, after 13 months, it did.

The NCAA also cleared up something else.

“As such, any allegations of major rules violations must meet a burden of proof, which is a higher standard than rampant public speculation online and in the media,” the NCAA said in its statement. “The allegations must be based on credible and persuasive information and includes a good-faith belief that the Committee on Infractions could make a finding.”

For all its faults, the NCAA does at least stand for something: that there still has to be some “proof” to condemn a program.

And it didn’t find any at Auburn.