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UNC: Three takeaways from Notice of Allegations

By Brandon Griffin

Apr 4, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; NBA former player Michael Jordan and NCAA president Mark Emmert during halftime of the game between the Villanova Wildcats and the North Carolina Tar Heels in the championship game of the 2016 NCAA Men
Apr 4, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; NBA former player Michael Jordan and NCAA president Mark Emmert during halftime of the game between the Villanova Wildcats and the North Carolina Tar Heels in the championship game of the 2016 NCAA Men /
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3 takeaways from UNC’s Notice of Allegations

The news came in like a drizzle.

Sandwiched between Tom Brady’s suspension and Steph Curry’s knee, UNC’s Notice of Allegations from the NCAA didn’t even make ESPN’s front page. I didn’t even hear about it until later in the day when my dad mentioned it to me. Of course I quickly ran to my computer and finally found the article. At first glance it didn’t seem like anything new. There was a change as a new violation was added and an old one dropped.

The new one just was another broad hit in what has been a mainly broad hit to the school. With the exception of Women’s basketball, most of the allegations were against the school as a whole and not really against any specific program. The old one was a big one. The NCAA dropped the improper benefits violation and that was the main one that specifically mentioned the men’s basketball and football programs. From this news, I come out with three takeaways.

Roy Williams Called it

Apr 3, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams speaks to the media during a press conference before the national championship game against the Villanova Wildcats at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 3, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams speaks to the media during a press conference before the national championship game against the Villanova Wildcats at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

During the Final Four, Roy was asked about the upcoming Notice of Allegations. Speculating he said “I don’t think we’re going to get hit in any way at all. Hard to penalize somebody when you have no allegations against them.” At the time his words had some truth, but with the latest announcement, they carry so much more weight. NCAA experts now would agree with this. It will be hard for the NCAA to penalize a program that is not specifically mentioned. Or even if they did, the NCAA would almost certainly lose the school’s appeal of said penalties.

This news is great for recruiting. For a couple of seasons Carolina has lost out on recruits because of the potential penalties. Brandon Ingram said it himself when he chose Duke over the Tar Heels. Instead now the school has a chance to get major recruits again. This means an uncommitted player like Jarrett Allen, who has UNC on his list all year, may rethink the Tar Heels.

Unfortunately this is also bad news for the Women’s Basketball program. I have been telling people for almost a year, that I really believed the Women’s basketball program was going to be the scape goat here. In the first allegations, they were the only program to be mentioned in their own allegation. This new set doesn’t do anything to change my mind on this. If things go the way I expect, don’t be surprised to see the Women’s Basketball program get essentially the death penalty, while the other programs get a few slaps on the wrist (my guess is a couple years probation).

The NCAA got it Right

Despite some raised eyebrows, and I get it, the NCAA got this decision right. I always had a problem with a organization that handles athletes coming down on a school for something that was clearly academic. Did the University offer classes that were less than Carolina worthy? Clearly they did. However, they weren’t offered to athletes only. They were available to everyone and lots of non athletes took them.

As Shakespeare would say “And therein lies the rub.” Once it was made known that the classes were not athlete only, the NCAA lost all jurisdiction over the AFAM program. Now was this a problem that needed to be fixed? Yes and the University has shown that over and over again by the steps it took. Has this process taken to long? Yes, but the NCAA got it right this time. Unfortunately this is not the end.

This is still far from over

Seven years after the initial scandal and Carolina Fans are still without answers. Yesterday’s release was just another step in what could be almost another year of waiting. The next step is for Carolina to respond to these allegations. They have 90 days to do so and based on what Bubba Cunningham said yesterday they intend to take every single one of them. The NCAA then has 60 days to respond. Then there would be a hearing and the release of allegations that could come anywhere between a week and several months.

Do the math and the earliest UNC might hear something would be the middle of October. If they take as long as they did in the original football case, nine months, it would be more like February. In other words, this resolution may still be almost another year away. For a school in need of closure, this only slightly shuts the door on the situation.

The last point is still the kicker. For the most part Fedora and Williams should be able to recruit again thanks to their programs being taken off, but the cloud still sits and other schools will use that against them. How much weight that will carry is another question entirely. I honestly believe if these allegations had come out a year ago Ingram is wearing Carolina Blue.

Nonetheless Carolina fans should celebrate what is essentially good news, except for the women’s basketball program. State fans and Duke fans will most definitely call BS, but for now, that’s all they really have to throw. And really be careful throwing rocks in glass houses because you never know when it will all come crashing down on you as well.

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