The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill football scandal is an incident in which the football program at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

was investigated and punished for multiple violations of

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA) rules and regulations, including

academic fraud An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

and improper benefits to student-athletes from sports agents. The NCAA investigation found that a

tutor TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in ...

had completed coursework for several football players, among other improper services. Additionally, the investigation found that seven football players received thousands of dollars in valuables from sports agents or people associated with agents. The NCAA sanctions led to a postseason ban, a reduction of 15 scholarships, and three years of probation. It was the second major infraction case in North Carolina's history and the first since the men's basketball program was sanctioned in 1960 for recruiting violations. Additionally, North Carolina football disassociated itself with several players involved in NCAA violations and fired football head coach

Butch Davis Paul Hilton "Butch" Davis Jr. (born November 17, 1951) is an American football coach. He was most recently the head football coach at Florida International University. After graduating from the University of Arkansas, he became an assistant co ...

in the summer before the 2011 season. In 2013, the district attorney of Orange County, North Carolina, the county where the university is located, initiated prosecution against five people involved in the scandal for violations of the state law about sports agents. Among the charged included the tutor found by the NCAA to have provided inappropriate academic assistance to players. The charges were later dropped.

History

Investigations and suspensions

On July 15, 2010,

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

reported that the NCAA interviewed several North Carolina football players over alleged gifts, extra benefits, and sports agent involvement. Defensive tackle

Marvin Austin Marvin Austin Jr. (born January 10, 1989) is a former American football nose tackle. He played college football at North Carolina and was drafted by the New York Giants in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Austin also played for the Miami D ...

, among players interviewed by the NCAA, made a post on

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on May 29. The post contained a reference to Club LIV, a nightclub in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

in which a sports agent's party had taken place two months earlier. Austin was reported to have attended that party with North Carolina wide receiver Greg Little and

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

tight end

Weslye Saunders Weslye Saunders (born January 16, 1989) is an American football tight end who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football at South Carolina. Professional car ...

, among other college football players. On August 26, 2010, the NCAA began a separate investigation of North Carolina football that involved possible academic fraud involving a tutor in the university's academic support program. The tutor was later identified as Jennifer Wiley. According to athletic director Dick Baddour, the NCAA began the second investigation based on information shared by a player interviewed in the first investigation into sports agents. Another source familiar with the investigation said that Wiley was accused of "inappropriate help on papers that football players were required to write for classes." However, Baddour said on September 24 that Wiley declined to cooperate with the NCAA. North Carolina suspended Austin on September 1, before the season began. In total, thirteen players missed North Carolina's September 4 season opener against

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

due to the NCAA investigation. The following day, defensive line coach and associate head coach John Blake was forced to resign; Blake had been under investigation for improper contact with sports agents, including

Gary Wichard Gary Theodore Wichard (pronounced ''Wish-hard''; March 24, 1950, in Brooklyn, New York – March 11, 2011, in Westlake Village, California) was a college football player and professional sports agent.

. On September 13, running back

Shaun Draughn Kenneth Shaun Draughn ( "drone"; born December 7, 1987) is a former American football running back. He played college football at the University of North Carolina. He signed with the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2011. In his ...

was the first of the 13 to be reinstated. On September 22, the NCAA suspended defensive backs Kendric Burney and

Deunta Williams Deunta Williams (born November 21, 1987) is a former American football defensive back. He played football for the University of North Carolina. Williams was considered one of the top safety prospects in his class. High school career A native of J ...

for six and four games, respectively, and credited the two for the two games both had already sat out. On October 11, 2010, North Carolina formally dismissed Austin from the team, and the NCAA declared wide receiver Little and defensive end Robert Quinn "permanently ineligible" due to receiving improper benefits.

McAdoo lawsuit against NCAA

Defensive end

Michael McAdoo Michael McAdoo (born July 9, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels. ...

filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on July 1, 2011 seeking reinstatement to the North Carolina football team. This followed the NCAA finding McAdoo guilty of accepting improper benefits and committing academic fraud via coursework completed by Jennifer Wiley. The NCAA reached its verdict based on the UNC Undergraduate Honor Court finding that McAdoo committed academic dishonesty by having Wiley complete a bibliography and works-cited section on a research paper. From this lawsuit, McAdoo was forced to make public the paper; an analysis by Dan Kane of the Raleigh ''

News & Observer ''The News & Observer'' is an American regional daily newspaper that serves the greater Triangle area based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The paper is the largest in circulation in the state (second is the ''Charlotte Observer''). The paper has bee ...

'' found that the Honor Court failed to find multiple instances of plagiarism in McAdoo's paper. On July 13, a North Carolina Superior Court judge in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

refused to grant an injunction against the NCAA, thus upholding ineligibility for McAdoo.

NCAA findings

In June 2011, the NCAA brought up formal allegations against North Carolina football. On March 12, 2012, the NCAA released its public infractions report for North Carolina. The NCAA found North Carolina guilty of multiple infractions, including academic fraud and failure to monitor the football program. However, the NCAA did not find anything extending to lack of institutional control, explaining that the university "educated its tutors regarding academic improprieties and its coaches regarding outside athletically related income...self-discovered the academic fraud and took decisive action...cooperated fully, is not a repeat violator and...exhibited appropriate control over its athletics program."

Department of African and Afro-American Studies controversy

As the NCAA investigated issues relating to sports agents and academic dishonesty, the university's Department of African and Afro-American Studies (AFAM) came under scrutiny due to the numerous football and basketball student-athletes enrolled in such classes. On September 1, 2011, department chair Julius Nyang'oro resigned from his executive position but remained on faculty. In 2012, an internal investigation by the university and another inquiry led by former North Carolina governor

James G. Martin James Grubbs Martin (born December 11, 1935) is an American organic chemist and politician who served as the 70th governor of North Carolina from 1985 to 1993. He was the third Republican elected to the office after Reconstruction, and the ...

found evidence of unethical practices by AFAM, such as limited class meetings and unauthorized grade changes. The university's internal investigation found that the questionable classes benefited the general student body, not just student-athletes.

Sanctions

Self-imposed

Citing harm to its reputation, North Carolina fired Butch Davis on July 27, 2011. The next day, Dick Baddour announced that he would resign and allow chancellor

Holden Thorp Herbert Holden Thorp (born August 16, 1964) is an American chemist, professor and entrepreneur. He was the tenth chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, assuming the position on July 1, 2008, succeeding James Moeser, and, a ...

to hire a football head coach. Also, defensive coordinator

Everett Withers Everett Rowe Withers (born June 15, 1963) is an American football coach and former player. He currently serves as the assistant head coach and defensive passing game coordinator for the Florida Atlantic Owls. He formerly served as the defensive ...

was promoted to interim head coach while the university sought a permanent one. In September 2011, North Carolina vacated all 16 wins from its 2008 and 2009 seasons. In November 2013, North Carolina sent a disassociation letter to Austin, Little, and Quinn.

From the NCAA

On March 12, 2012, the NCAA issued formal sanctions against North Carolina football: a postseason ban for 2012, reductions of 15 scholarships, and 3 years of probation. Among the NCAA's findings: John Blake was paid by agent Gary Wichard, to whom Blake referred players. Consequently, Blake got a three-year

show-cause penalty In the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), a show-cause penalty is an administrative punishment ordering that any NCAA penalties imposed on a coach found to have committed major rules violations will stay in effect against that coach fo ...

with severe restrictions on employment at NCAA member schools.

Criminal charges

On September 30, 2013, a grand jury in Orange County, North Carolina issued sealed indictments on five people for 25 charges of violating the state Uniform Athlete Agents Act. Among the five charged were Jennifer Wiley (now married and known as Jennifer Wiley Thompson), sports agent Terry Watson, and Michael Wayne Johnson Jr., a former quarterback at

North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University (NCCU or NC Central) is a public historically black university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by James E. Shepard in affiliation with the Chautauqua movement in 1909, it was supported by private funds from ...

accused of acting as a "go-between" for Terry Watson and Greg Little. Julius Nyang'oro was indicted by a grand jury in the same county on December 2, 2013.

References

{{North Carolina Tar Heels football navbox, state=collapsed

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

2010 in North Carolina 2010 scandals 2011 Atlantic Coast Conference football season 2011 in North Carolina 2011 scandals Academic scandals

Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...