unc Athletics Scandal - Amended NOA has been released

[JasonEvans]

The ANOA is out.

Read it here.

No mention of men's basketball or football. Roy is cackling with laughter right now. I still doubt that they skate, but the new NOA presents nothing new other than some specific hammering of Women's hoops. There are still 5 Level 1 infractions here, including Lack of Institutional Control.

-Jason "our hopes that much more would go into this have been dashed... but what is still there is still extremely serious" Evans

[tux]

On first pass this screams that UNC negotiated a delay for the men's basketball team, probably for some additional cooperation. Surely, this effort didn't require 8 months.

It also reads more like a hit piece on Boxil than the previous NOA. In other words, UNC seems to have isolated this to Boxil, Crowder, and Nyang'oro. Although there's still the LOIC...

[JasonEvans]

So, the ANOA doesn't go 1/10th as far as we would like, but it does contain a phrase that I think does a good job of summing up why Carolina is going to get the hammer:

the violations seriously undermine or threaten the integrity of the NCAA Collegiate Model

That phrase makes multiple appearances and cuts to the core of the allegations.

-Jason "we had our hopes raised in recent weeks that this would be a truly terrifying document -- just because it isn't it does not mean Carolina isn't still in a whole lot of trouble" Evans

[BLPOG]

Well, I'm firmly back in the UNC Scandal Pessimist camp. It was a fun, if brief, stroll outside.

[OldPhiKap]

Would love to see a redline version.

[Teton Jack]

Well, I'm firmly back in the UNC Scandal Pessimist camp. It was a fun, if brief, stroll outside.

This is very disappointing and looks like the NCAA was looking to narrow the inquiry instead of addressing the broader cultural issues

[sammy3469]

On first pass this screams that UNC negotiated a delay for the men's basketball team, probably for some additional cooperation. Surely, this effort didn't require 8 months.

It also reads more like a hit piece on Boxil than the previous NOA. In other words, UNC seems to have isolated this to Boxil, Crowder, and Nyang'oro. Although there's still the LOIC...

Allegation 4 is a really weird one. It's basically a we know you did this cop-out. Then you go to the NCAA manual's cite of 19.1.1-c and you get a "failure to cooperate" cite. That should have been covered in Allegations 2 and 3, but I guess was not. So it's either the entire ANOA is either gentlest reading of the entire episode, or the NCAA thinks UNC has been so uncooperative the entire time and just wants to hammer the entire program.

Really strange and I'm sure the UNC apologists will be out in full force saying nothing besides WBB are involved even though the NCAA throws the entire university into that 4th allegation.

[madscavenger]

Lends a little credence to the 'Women's hoops is going to take the brunt of it' we heard last fall (via radio?).

Still, if the men don't lose a banner, every ACC school, and lots of others, ought to every game chant back and forth across the venue in every single televised game they play, Cheaters....Cheaters...Cheaters......Ch eaters... And do it for years. Let 'em know it won't be forgotten. Hopefully it will p*ss off not only prospective recruits, but also every baby blue ostrich in the state......over and over and over and over.... Enjoy the games, folks!

[tux]

I'm also shaking my head at the "...starting in fall 2005" language.

I'm torn between who I think deserves to get hammered more: UNC or the NCAA.

[FerryFor50]

Still, if the men don't lose a banner, every ACC school, and lots of others, ought to every game chant back and forth across the venue in every single televised game they play, Cheaters....Cheaters...Cheaters......Ch eaters... And do it for years. Let 'em know it won't be forgotten. Hopefully it will p*ss off not only prospective recruits, but also every baby blue ostrich in the state......over and over and over and over.... Enjoy the games, folks!

Yea, that'll learn 'em!

[OldPhiKap]

FWIW it is dated today, for those thinking that UNC attorneys had it and were sitting on it.

After the big build-up, kinda disappointing. Maybe more than kinda.

I see they self-reported 95 "Level III or secondary" violations in the last four years -- is that a really high number? That is listed as a mitigating factor, but not sure if that is an unusual number or not.

[BandAlum83]

I'm sad
I'm disappointed

[swood1000]

This amended NOA is in addition to the original one.

Please note that the policies and procedures outlined in the May 20, 2015, notice of allegations and corresponding cover letter still apply.

[Tom B.]

Compare these paragraphs from the original NOA:

From pp. 1-2:

a. Athletics academic counselors in the Academic Support Program for Student-Athletes (ASPSA) leveraged their relationships with faculty and staff members in the African and Afro-American Studies (AFRI/AFAM) department to obtain and/or provide special arrangements to student athletes that were not generally available to the student body. The special arrangements athletics academic counselors provided to student-athletes constituted impermissible extra benefits and included, but were not limited to, requesting certain course offerings within the AFRI/AFAM department on behalf of student-athletes, contacting individuals within the AFRI/AFAM department to register student-athletes in courses, obtaining assignments for classes taught in the AFRI/AFAM department on behalf of student-athletes, suggesting assignments to the AFRI/AFAM department for student-athletes to complete, turning in papers on behalf of student-athletes and recommending grades.

Certain AFRI/AFAM courses were anomalous because they were designated as lecture courses but were taught as independent study courses with little, if any, attendance requirements, minimal to no faculty interaction, lax paper writing standards and artificially high final grades. In some instances, athletics academic counselors within ASPSA made special arrangements and used these courses to help ensure the eligibility of academically at-risk student-athletes. The high level of involvement by athletics academic counselors in the administration of these anomalous AFRI/AFAM courses relieved student-athletes of the academic responsibilities of a general student. [NCAA Bylaw 16.11.2.1 (2002-03 through 2010-11)]

b. Additionally, from the 2006 fall semester and continuing through the 2011 summer semester, the institution provided impermissible extra benefits similar to those articulated above and allowed 10 student-athletes to exceed the limit of independent study credits countable toward graduation. Under the institution's policy, credit hours for independent study courses did not count toward a degree after a student exhausted the institutional 12-hour limitation. By failing to count the anomalous AFRI/AFAM courses as independent study courses, and including these courses as applicable toward graduation, the institution impermissibly allowed 10 student-athletes to exceed the 12-hour limitation. [NCAA Bylaw 16.11.2.1 (2006-07 through 2010-11)]

From pp. 49-50:

Specifically, individuals in the academic administration on campus, particularly in the college of arts and sciences, did not sufficiently monitor the AFRI/AFAM and ASPSA departments or provide appropriate supervision for these academic units and their staffs. The AFRI/AFAM department created anomalous courses that went unchecked for 18 years. This allowed individuals within ASPSA to use these courses through special arrangements to maintain the eligibility of academically at-risk student-athletes, particularly in the sports of football, men's basketball and women's basketball. Although the general student body also had access to the anomalous AFRI/AFAM courses, student-athletes received preferential access to these anomalous courses, enrolled in these anomalous courses at a disproportionate rate to that of the general student body and received other impermissible benefits not available to the general student body in connection with these courses.

With these paragraphs from the new NOA:

From p. 6:

Specifically, the AFRI/AFAM department created anomalous courses that were available to the general student body and went unchecked for at least six years. As a result of the institution's obligation and ability to provide academic support services to student-athletes, and as a result of the relationships between the Academic Support Program for Student-Athletes (ASPSA) and the AFRI/AFAM department, student-athletes had increased exposure to the anomalous course offerings. When individuals brought concerns to the attention of then leaders both on campus and within athletics, those leaders had multiple opportunities to investigate the AFRI/AFAM course anomalies and student-athletes' exposure to those courses. However, the institution failed to exert control when it did not recognize and sufficiently investigate these practices. Both campus and the athletics department administrators' reactions and responses to those opportunities were inadequate and ineffective, creating the conditions and opportunities that made possible the violations described in Allegation Nos. 1 and 4. As a result of the failure of leadership and the lack of corrective action, problems within the AFRI/AFAM department and athletics were allowed to continue for multiple years.

Further, the institutional leadership did not provide adequate guidance and supervision to those employed within ASPSA. Because of this failure in leadership and oversight, those charged with providing academic support for student-athletes did not believe their actions or the actions of the AFRI/AFAM department were inappropriate. The institution's failure to take necessary steps to provide adequate oversight of the anomalous AFRI/AFAM courses resulted in an investigation, analysis and ultimately disciplinary action taken against the institution by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, its accrediting agency.

The new NOA appears to have been defanged of anything that could retroactively jeopardize the eligibility of football or men's basketball athletes. The new NOA not only doesn't mention men's basketball or football, it also no longer appears to treat the fake classes as "impermissible benefits," as the original NOA did. Now it's basically just a "failure to monitor/failure to supervise" case, with the exception of women's basketball. And the applicable time frames have been shortened, too.

Whatever UNC has been paying its lawyers, they earned every penny. It's almost as if Wainstein never happened. Looks like the banners are safe.

At least we'll always have Kris Jenkins.

[tux]

My new guess is: 1) A pretty large fine 2) Multiple years of probation and loss of scholarships for WBB...

PackPride is going to go IC on this... (watch UNC beat them in football this fall too)

[Tom B.]

This amended NOA is in addition to the original one.

I'm no expert, but I think it's only the "policies and procedures" outlined in the first NOA that carry over. Not the actual allegations.

[OldPhiKap]

Compare these paragraphs from the original NOA:

From pp. 1-2:




From pp. 49-50:





With these paragraphs from the new NOA:

From p. 6:




The new NOA appears to have been defanged of anything that could retroactively jeopardize the eligibility of football or men's basketball athletes. Whatever UNC has been paying its lawyers, they earned every penny. It's almost as if Wainstein never happened. Looks like the banners are safe.

Yup. Wrist slap coming for all but WBB.

[tux]

This amended NOA is in addition to the original one.

But that could also just be the "policies and procedures" not the actual allegations. I saw that too -- but why repeat so much stuff in the new one if the original NOA is still operative. My guess is that you're incorrect, and this is the only NOA.

[El_Diablo]

The men's basketball team will skate. The 2005 banner is safe. The 2009 banner is likely safe. They may be affected by some blanket punishment (e.g., scholarship reductions), but the allegations against the men's basketball team have been completely gutted.

No wonder UNC was so quick to push this out the door.

[DukeWarhead]

Geez f-ing Louise! Are you kidding me? I was bamboozled by all this "hint hint" insider info pointing to a big tsunami punishment. That stinks!