Nihon University has officially decided that its president and vice president will step down over a scandal involving marijuana use by members of its American football club.

The decision was made on Wednesday at an extraordinary meeting of the university's board of trustees.

University President Sakai Takeo will resign on March 31, while Vice President Sawada Yasuhiro will step down on December 31.

On October 31, a third-party panel examining the university's handling of the scandal criticized Sawada for keeping suspicious plant fragments for 12 days without swiftly reporting the discovery to police.

In response, the board of trustees called on Sakai and Sawada to step down.

On Monday, both of them informed the university they intend to do so.

The meeting on Wednesday also decided to cut the pay of the chair of the university's board of trustees, Hayashi Mariko, by 50 percent for six months.

The university says it will select a new president by the end of March and promptly consider candidates to succeed the vice president.

The university has also decided to close down the American football team following the arrests of three of its members.

A member in his third year at the university was arrested in August on suspicion of hiding marijuana and a stimulant drug in a student dormitory. He was later indicted on charges of violating the narcotics control law.

A fourth-year member was subsequently issued a summary indictment for purchasing illegal drugs believed to be cannabis from a dealer in Tokyo.

Most recently, a third-year member was arrested on Monday on suspicion of buying cannabis.

Nihon University closed the dormitory in August and suspended the team's activities indefinitely.