UNC responds to NCAA football investigation

UNC-Chapel Hill responded to the NCAA Monday regarding allegations of student-athletes cheating and receiving improper benefits after the University’s football program has been scrutinized for more than a year.

UNC posted exhibits Tuesday that support the response letter to the NCAA. The exhibits were redacted in accordance with FERPA, the State Personnel Act and the North Carolina Public Records Law.

UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp said in a statement “We have acknowledged our violations, and we’ve responded in the way you would expect of this University. We think that the sanctions we have proposed accept responsibility and, at the same time, give our current and future student-athletes and coaches every opportunity for success.”

Read UNC’s 111-page letter in response to NCAA’s notice of allegations

In the response letter, UNC detailed a number of self-imposed sanctions, including vacating all victories from the 2008 and 2009 football seasons. Additionally, the University will lose three football scholarships through the 2014 season and will self impose a fine of 50,000 dollars. The University also placed itself on probation for two years. From the response:

1.    In response to the violations acknowledged in Allegation No. 1 and 4, the University will vacate all victories by the football program during the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
2.    In response to the violations acknowledged in Allegation No.1, 4, 6 and 9 in this Response, the University has self-imposed the following penalties:
a.    The University will reduce by a total of nine the number of both initial and total grants-in-aid over a three-year period covering the 2012-2013, 2013-2014, and 2014- 2015 academic years as follows:

- a reduction of three initial and total grants in aid for the 2012-2013 academic year;
- a reduction of three initial and total grants in aid for the 2013-2014 academic year; and
- a reduction of three initial and total grants in aid for the 2014-2015 academic year.

UNC received a formal letter of allegations from the NCAA in June and took the full 90 days allowed to respond.

The letter and response are all part of the NCAA’s standard practice for investigations.

Related NCAA visits to Chapel Hill began on July 12, 2010, when the NCAA began interviewing UNC athletes over concerns of improper player benefits.

For the News and Observer’s timeline of the investigation from July 2010 to the firing of former Head Coach Butch Davis on July 27, 2011, click here.

The NCAA Committee on Infractions is set to hold a hearing about the UNC allegations on Oct. 28 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp and Athletic Director Dick Baddour have indicated that they will be representing the University at the hearing.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that UNC would be on probation for three years. UNC will be on self-imposed probation for two years.

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