The NCAA announced its intentions to reopen its 2011 investigation of North Carolina for academic irregularities Monday via a public statement.
“The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, was cited by the Division I Committee on Infractions in 2012 for violations in its athletics program, including academic misconduct. As with any case, the NCAA enforcement staff makes clear it will revisit the matter if additional information becomes available. After determining that additional people with information and others who were previously uncooperative might be willing to speak with the enforcement staff, the NCAA has reopened its investigation. The enforcement staff is exploring this new information to ensure an exhaustive investigation is conducted based on all available information. The NCAA will not comment further to protect the integrity of the investigation.”
The decision comes on the heels of former Tar Heel basketball player Rashad McCants' statements on ESPN's Outside The Lines in which he revealed that he received illegal benefits from tutors during his time in Chapel Hill and was named to the Dean's List despite not attending class or completing the necessary work.
North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham released a public statement in response to the NCAA's announcement:
"The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has received a verbal notice of inquiry from the NCAA that it will reopen its 2011 examination of academic irregularities. The NCAA has determined that additional people with information and others who were previously uncooperative might now be willing to speak with the enforcement staff.
Since 2011, the University has conducted and commissioned numerous reviews of this matter and provided the NCAA with updates. In February, the University retained former federal prosecutor Kenneth Wainstein to conduct an independent investigation and instructed him to share relevant information directly and confidentially with the NCAA.
The University has instituted numerous academic reforms based on findings from earlier reports that can be found at http://carolinacommitment.unc.edu/ We remain committed to learning from our past so that we can move forward to building a stronger University.
Consistent with NCAA protocols, we will have no further comment on this matter until the process is complete."
The initial investigation was undergone in response to reports that the Afro and African-American Studies department offered classes in which students were not required to attend and submitted work done by tutors.
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