For a couple of years now, the North Carolina Tar Heels have been under investigation for academic fraud, stemming from courses that were allegedly created simply to keep athletes eligible.
However, on Friday, the Division I Committee on Infractions ruled that the Tar Heels would only face two minor sanctions, which seemingly won’t impact the athletic programs.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey — who also serves as the DI Committee on Infractions’ Chief Hearing Officer — said the reason there were no sanctions against the athletic programs is because other students also benefitted from the courses in question:
Committee on Infractions could not conclude North Carolina violated NCAA rules: https://t.co/iPE127Txqr pic.twitter.com/suI59ucHvs
— NCAA (@NCAA) October 13, 2017
While that’s not exactly a ringing endorsement for North Carolina, there will be no major sanctions against the Tar Heels.
Sankey continued, saying it is up to member schools to decide whether academic fraud occurred, and the committee must respect those decisions:
Committee chief hearing officer Greg Sankey explains the decision further. pic.twitter.com/MjknFZnRiz
— NCAA (@NCAA) October 13, 2017
The full report can be found here, though it likely won’t do much to make fans of other schools happy.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
