Friday Arroves [Check back for updates]

Big Four Rivals UNC Scandal103

We will have a lot more to come on the UNC-CHeats academic/football/agent/tutor/recruiting scandals as the afternoon progresses.

For now, the NCAA’s findings are detailed here.

The penalties in this case include the following:

* Public reprimand and censure.

* Three years of probation from March 12, 2012, through March 11, 2015.

* Three-year show-cause penalty for the former assistant football coach prohibiting any recruiting activity. The public report contains further details.

* Postseason ban for the 2012 football season.

* Reduction of football scholarships by a total of 15 during three academic years. The public report includes further details.

* Vacation of wins during the 2008 and 2009 seasons (self-imposed by the university). The public report includes further details.

* $50,000 fine (self-imposed by the university).

* Disassociation of both the former tutor and former student-athlete who served as an agent runner (self-imposed by the university).

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Big Four Rivals UNC Scandal

103 Responses to Friday Arroves [Check back for updates]

  1. Tau837 03/12/2012 at 3:11 PM #

    Aside from the scholarships, the only other aspect of this that seems to hurt at all is the bowl ban this year, but it only hurts if multiple impact seniors transfer as a result. If that doesn’t happen, the bowl ban doesn’t matter, since it won’t affect recruiting at all, with the 2012 class already signed. Is this correct?

  2. AirWolf 03/12/2012 at 3:12 PM #

    edit: the holes would NOT be bowl …..

  3. backnine 03/12/2012 at 3:13 PM #

    Doubt a one-year bowl ban is enough to lead many upper-classment to seek transfers. But maybe there is a few rising juniors or seniors who don’t want to see their remaining eligibilty completely wrecked. Maybe a few will seek transfers elsewhere. They wouldn’t be allowed to come here, or anywhere in ACC. So there’s a chance this will inflict at least a little damage.

  4. Tau837 03/12/2012 at 3:13 PM #

    By the way, does the bowl ban count for 2012 regardless of whether they qualify for a bowl? It seems that for it to have any teeth, it shouldn’t count if they don’t qualify, it should carry over.

    I’m sure it counts for 2012 regardless, but it seems kind of useless given the circumstances.

  5. ryebread 03/12/2012 at 3:16 PM #

    Texpack: I was off by one year’s post season ban and I thought that prediction was going light.

    It’s nothing more than a @#$(@*#$ slap on the wrist. It is depressing but fully expected.

    Even in blatant cheating, UNC wins again. All that smoke? All that fire? All this dirty laundry? All the actual proof? Serious allegations?

    Results: 1 year bowl ban and 15 scholarships.

    It clearly pays to cheat.

  6. lawful 03/12/2012 at 3:17 PM #

    Boy, we really are the lunatic fringe. For those that were hoping for the death penalty, that just wasn’t reality. Not that I’m well versed in this, but the penalties seem just in comparison to (at least some of the) other schools that were caught cheating. I don’t believe you can ever look at this as apples vs. apples. It’s always different. They’re losing 15 scholies over a 3 years period (if I read that right). That’s pretty painful stuff for a football program. Couple that with the bowl band and you can expect that this will set them back quite abit for more like five years. They’re not Ohio St. They won’t just reload after this passes by. You don’t want to bury them. That does more damage to what’s perceived as an already struggling conference. And running off to the SEC is neither the answer nor probably realistic. Be careful what you wish for.

  7. lawful 03/12/2012 at 3:22 PM #

    One more thing about the scholarships. Considering you bring in 20-22 new freshman/year, a reduction of 5 scholarships is a reduction in 20%+ of your scholarships. Try that for three years when everyone else gets their full compliment and tell me that’s not feeling the pain. I’ll bet Mr. Fedora is not feeling too good at the moment. The ACC may not be the SEC, but we’re no Big East either. Good luck, he’s got his work cut out for him.

  8. Pack Mentality 03/12/2012 at 3:24 PM #

    Are they going to have to vacate all their wins against us?

  9. lawful 03/12/2012 at 3:26 PM #

    haha…no. They get to keep them all…

  10. Trout 03/12/2012 at 3:28 PM #

    Chancellor Holden Thorp:
    “It’s been almost two years since this investigation began, so getting the NCAA ruling is a big step in moving forward. We approached this investigation the way that you would expect of Carolina – thoughtfully, thoroughly and with full cooperation – and that was the right thing to do.
    We self-imposed a number of penalties in the fall that we thought were appropriate based on the facts in our case. The NCAA has given us additional penalties, and the sanctions are more severe than we expected. The ruling is disappointing for our new coaching staff and our student-athletes.
    We considered an appeal. But given the timing and the record that other schools have had with appeals, as well as the fact that penalties are suspended during an appeal,we’ve decided it’s best to accept our sanctions and move forward.”

    Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham:
    “North Carolina has always represented so much that is good about college athletics. The last year and a half has been difficult for everyone who loves UNC from both an academic and athletic perspective. It’s time for us to move Carolina Athletics forward to help restore that reputation of integrity and respect for which the University has been known.
    We can’t guarantee people won’t make mistakes in the future, but we can give our collective best effort to prevent a repeat of what brought us to this day. College athletics evolves daily and the high profile nature of intercollegiate athletics demands that we remain vigilant and accountable for the coaches, student-athletes and staff who represent our great university.
    It is our aspiration that Carolina will be better in the future as a result of what we have gone through and everyone associated with our program will strive each day to make our students, faculty, alumni, fans and staff proud to be Tar Heels.”

    Former Director of Athletics Dick Baddour:
    “From the first day that we began to learn the facts of this case, we set out to do a thorough review, and that is what we did. Every step we took throughout the investigation was to get to the facts, be fair to the people involved in the process and preserve the integrity of the University.
    Carolina is well positioned to move forward and be an even better athletics program in all areas. I have great faith that Bubba Cunningham and Larry Fedora and their staffs are committed to maintaining a football program and athletics program that we all can be proud of.
    I do want to thank our fans for their continued support. This has been a long and difficult time and our fans have stood with us and been extremely patient. I know the University is appreciative of that enduring support.”

    Head Football Coach Larry Fedora:
    “Now, more than ever, we need the entire Carolina fan base to come together and support our current student-athletes as we embark on a new era of Tar Heel football. We will face this adversity head on and work to be a better football program.
    I was aware of the NCAA case at the time I was named head coach. Bubba Cunningham and Holden Thorp were forthright and honest with me throughout the hiring process as I made the decision to take the job.
    I chose Carolina because this is one of the best schools in the country with high standards of academic and athletic excellence. In so many ways, Carolina has exceeded my expectations.
    My only regret is for the current players, especially the seniors, who will not have the opportunity to compete for an ACC championship and go through the experience of a bowl game in 2012.
    We will do all we can to make every game this year a special experience for our seniors and fans.”

    UNC President Tom Ross:
    “The NCAA’s investigation of the football program at UNC-Chapel Hill began nearly two years ago. This has been a long and arduous process. The Chapel Hill campus cooperated fully with the NCAA from the beginning of this matter and has accepted responsibility for mistakes made. While I believe that the self-imposed penalties announced by the campus in September 2011 are fair and reasonable and am personally disappointed by today’s decision, the NCAA had complete discretion to impose additional sanctions and saw fit to do so. Nonetheless, we can now close this chapter and move forward.”

  11. Alpha Wolf 03/12/2012 at 3:31 PM #

    ^ gag.

  12. Codebrown 03/12/2012 at 3:32 PM #

    I support Butch.

  13. Gene 03/12/2012 at 3:34 PM #

    I think UNC-CHeats handling of this should be right up their with J&J’s 1982 handling of the cyanide-Tylenol thingy.

    Really amazing damage control on both counts. The latter lead to tamper proof packaging to restore customers faith in the product, the other shows a clear cut example of how to cheat and get away with it.

    Step one to cheating: Make sure your coach never uses his university office phone or university issued cell phone for anything, not even ordering a pizza and have him route all his calls through his personal phone.

  14. Wulfpack 03/12/2012 at 3:39 PM #

    I think Fedora knew exactly what he was getting into. In a way, this can help him in that expectations will be very low for at least 3 years. All he has to do is skate by and he’ll keep his job for as long as he wants it, assuming he plays by the rules. He is going to get an awful lot of leeway.

  15. PackerInRussia 03/12/2012 at 3:42 PM #

    Thanks Wufpacker and vtpackfan. I think staying clean for 3 years is no gimme.

  16. NOT A FAN OF BLUE 03/12/2012 at 3:43 PM #

    Carolina was Butch-slapped. They wanted to be big time; and they had the perfect man for the job – a morally bankrupt coach. Apparently, no one at the Flagship realized how low you have to go to reach the top.

  17. Wufpacker 03/12/2012 at 3:49 PM #

    “Apparently, no one at the Flagship realized how low you have to go to reach the top.”

    No offense, but I highly doubt that. Eyes wide open, IMHO.

  18. gotohe11carolina 03/12/2012 at 3:51 PM #

    the scholarship reductions hurt depth so while they might still get talent when talent gets hurt you wind up with wall ons on the field which equal losses. this is the largest scholarship penalty I’ve seen recently, i think USC got 12 and even with all the talent in the world they aren’t competing for PAC 12 titles. one year bowl ban was a little weak. as far as Butch skating, can’t convict with no evidence, so without the 216 records there wasn’t much the NCAA could go on. I’d say we can expect Miami to get really slammed on scholarships. probably 18 or so with a 2 year postseason ban. pencil in VA tech to win the coastal for the next decade or so.

  19. wolfpacker 03/12/2012 at 3:54 PM #

    I think it’s time for PAYBACK…CLEMSON, it’s your turn and ALL THE ACC SCHOOLS WILL BACK YOU!

  20. Gene 03/12/2012 at 3:54 PM #

    What really gets me is other than the loss of scholarships. there’s really no other material penalty.

    The loss of a bowl game for 2012 isn’t a big deal. This is basically rebuilding year for them anyway.

    5 scholarships a year for 3 years isn’t enough of a penalty, in my opinion. It may impact their overall depth, but it won’t hurt their starting talent.

    We’ll soon hear about how Fedora rebuilt UNC-CHeat after enduring such “harsh” penalties and what a stand-up guy he is.

    After the way we lost on Saturday and now this, I want to punch the sky because it’s the wrong color on this sunny-almost-Spring-day.

  21. Gene 03/12/2012 at 3:57 PM #

    Problem is damn near every other school in the ACC doesn’t promote from within like UNC-CHeat does.

    The AD at Clemson is an outsider to the program. Unless Clemson’s BoG or BoT’s cares to make some noise about further sanctions, there’s no one in Clemson’s athletics department with the institutional memory to care and that goes for most other ACC schools as well.

    I wouldn’t hold your breath that any of the existing AD’s care to rehash something from 25-30 years ago, no matter how bitter fans are.

  22. WolfBlood 03/12/2012 at 4:00 PM #

    Not as much punishment as I had hoped, but I didnt expect it would be. The lost scholarships will hurt their recruiting, the bowl ban will hurt their upper classmen, and we get to make fun of them for being on probation for the next 3 years. Not too shabby.

    I hope we use this as a selling tool on the recruiting trail to parents and players. I think we have a great opportunity right now to take a step up as a program.

    We knew the NCAA wouldnt do what it actually needs to do to solve the problem, too much money there.

  23. Pack Mentality 03/12/2012 at 4:02 PM #

    “We can’t guarantee people won’t make mistakes in the future, but we can give our collective best effort to prevent a repeat of what brought us to this day.”
    ~quote from the AD

    This was a “mistake”? You can give your “best effort” to not employing a coach that moonlights as a pro agent? Your “best effort” to not have a tutor on the coach’s personal payroll who writes all the papers for your illiterate thugs? Your “mistake” of not accepting agent money to attend lesbian parties in Miami?

    Are you sure you can put that much effort as required for this? Don’t promise us so much that you cannot follow through.

  24. Ocracokewolf 03/12/2012 at 4:02 PM #

    I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in trouble again in the not too distant future. A normal response to these findings would be to admit the problem, fix it, and make sure it doesn’t happen again. I don’t see any of the Chapel Hill Admin or even the UNC system even admitting there was much of a problem…only expressing disappointment in the punishment? There’s still a culture problem in the program and I don’t see any determined effort to change it.

  25. PackerInRussia 03/12/2012 at 4:09 PM #

    $50,000? That’s nothing. John Henson pays that much in parking tickets in one month.

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