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Bubba Cunningham

North Carolina's NCAA notice of allegations includes five severe charges

Nicole Auerbach
USA TODAY Sports
The Old Well on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The NCAA enforcement staff alleges the University of North Carolina committed five severe violations from 2002-2011, including a lack of institutional control of its athletic department.

North Carolina received the notice Wednesday, May 20.

Two allegations are related to impermissible benefits tied to academics, and two allegations involve members of the African and Afro-American Studies department violating the NCAA principles of ethical conduct by not assisting with the NCAA investigation.

"We take the allegations the NCAA made about past conduct very seriously," UNC Chancellor Carol L. Folt and Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham said in a statement. "This is the next step in a defined process, and we are a long way from reaching a conclusion. We will respond to the notice using facts and evidence to present a full picture of our case. Although we may identify some instances in the NCAA's notice where we agree and others where we do not, we are committed to continue pursuing a fair and just outcome for Carolina.

"We believe the University has done everything possible to address the academic irregularities that ended in 2011 and prevent them from recurring. We have implemented more than 70 reforms and initiatives to ensure and enhance academic integrity. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of those measures and, wherever needed, put additional safeguards in place."

An independent investigation released in October 2014 found evidence directly tying years of no-show classes at the University of North Carolina to a scheme that helped hundreds of athletes — including football and men's basketball players — raise their GPA and stay eligible over a period of nearly two decades.

The athletes were enrolled in classes within the African and Afro-American Studies department.

The NCAA investigation into UNC's academic impropriety appears to focus on three individuals — Julius Nyang'oro, Deborah Crowder and Jan Boxill. Nyang'oro is the former chair of the African and Afro-American Studies department. Crowder is the former student services manager in the same department. Boxill is a former women's basketball athletic academic counselor who also served as a philosophy instructor and director of the school's Parr Center for Ethics.

Men's basketball coach Roy Williams — who has won 750 games in the course of his Hall of Fame career — was named once in the notice of allegations, at which point it mentioned that he was interviewed by the NCAA on Dec. 14, 2014 and that he expressed concern that so many of his players were majoring in African and Afro-American Studies. He is not listed as part of any of the allegations.

North Carolina has 90 days from receipt of the notice to submit a response to the NCAA. Then the NCAA's enforcement staff will have 60 days to conduct a pre-hearing conference with UNC officials. A hearing before the Committee on Infractions will be scheduled at a later time. The notice requested the presence of Cunningham, faculty athletics rep Lisa Broome and senior associate athletic director Vince Ille, and possibly others to be determined, at the hearing.

DOCUMENT: NCAA'S NOTICE OF ALLEGATIONS TO NORTH CAROLINA

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