University of North Carolina academic-athletic scandal
An internal investigation by the university released in 2011 and another investigation commissioned by former North Carolina governor Jim Martin in 2012 found numerous academic and ethical issues with the AFAM department, including unauthorized grade changes and faculty signatures, a disproportionate number of independent study class offerings relative to other departments, and an over-representation of student-athletes enrolled in such classes.
On July 15, 2010, ESPN reported that the NCAA interviewed several North Carolina football players over alleged gifts, extra benefits, and sports agent involvement.
[5] Reportedly, the investigation began after North Carolina defensive tackle Marvin Austin made a post on Twitter on May 29, 2010, containing a reference to a nightclub in Miami in which a sports agent's party had taken place two months earlier.
[9] Because the university felt that the NCAA investigation was extremely embarrassing to its reputation, North Carolina fired football head coach Butch Davis on July 27, 2011.
[11] The next day, athletic director Dick Baddour announced that he would resign and allow chancellor Holden Thorp to hire a new football head coach.
[12] On March 12, 2012, the NCAA issued formal sanctions against North Carolina football: a postseason ban for the 2012 season, reductions of 15 scholarships, and 3 years of probation.
[13] The NCAA found North Carolina guilty of multiple infractions, including academic fraud and failure to monitor the football program.
[13] However, the NCAA did not find more serious violations amounting to what would constitute a 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.
"[18] Paul M. Barrett, in a cover story for the March 3, 2014 edition of Bloomberg Businessweek magazine, wrote: "... rather than seriously investigate the connection between sports and classroom corruption, top university administrators used vague committee reports to obfuscate the issue.
UNC defensive end Michael McAdoo filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on July 1, 2011, seeking reinstatement to the football team.
[22] On July 13, a North Carolina Superior Court judge in Durham refused to grant an injunction against the NCAA, thus upholding ineligibility for McAdoo.
[22] Then in August, Dan Kane reported that football player Marvin Austin took a 400-level course in the department the summer before his freshman fall semester.
"[23] On September 1, 2011, just over a week after Kane's article about Austin's transcript was published, AFAM department chair Julius Nyang'oro resigned from his executive position but remained on faculty.
[25][26] A university staffer originally posted the transcript with Peppers's identifying information removed on a secure UNC server as a test record in 2001.
[36] Willingham's 2009 Master of Arts thesis for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro was titled Academics & athletics - a clash of cultures: Division I football programs and asserted in part: "While admission standards are on the rise at major public universities, many under-prepared student-athletes (football) are admitted each year because they are the 'best' player in the state/country, creating academic disparities.
"[37] In a November 2012 interview with Dan Kane of The News & Observer, Willingham made her initial claims about the university helping student-athletes stay eligible via improper assistance.
[2][36] In 2013, the Drake Group gave Willingham the Robert Maynard Hutchins Award for being "a university faculty or staff member who defends the institution's academic integrity in the face of college athletics.
The report was a general look at how some top NCAA Division I schools hire learning specialists like Willingham to help keep student-athletes eligible.
[47] In August 2014, citing posts in the Scout.com UNC message board Inside Carolina, Dan Kane reported in The News & Observer that passages in Willingham's 2009 master's thesis appeared to be plagiarized.
[48] North Carolina guard Rashad McCants is required to go to class, to show up on time for practice and to attend study hall.
[60] The report conveyed that "counselors saw the paper classes and the artificially high grades they yielded as key to helping some student-athletes remain eligible."
These included better governance standards, more accountability for support programs for student-athletes, new department structures, and more classroom audits and oversight of courses, according to a university source.
"[64] North Carolina chancellor Carol Folt commented on the resolution of the case when she said "I believe we have done everything possible to correct and move beyond the past academic irregularities and have established very robust processes to prevent them from recurring.
