Thursday evening, Scout.com’s North Carolina website reported that the NCAA is in the midst of a preliminary investigation into certain segments of the school’s athletic programs, including football.
ESPN.com’s Joe Schad has provided further details into the situation, including the fact that it’s only the football program the NCAA is looking into. Specifically, the NCAA is poking around (cue ominous organ music) sports agents and their interaction with UNC football players.
One source told Schad that the NCAA was questioning players — including defensive tackle Marvin Austin, who had flirted with leaving for the NFL early — about gifts or extra benefits, ostensibly “to make sure no Reggie Bush stuff is going on.”
A second source said that the NCAA asked all of UNC’s projected NFL draft picks to provide phone records so investigators could see which agents they had spoken with.
The players were also asked who paid for the travel, who paid their rent and which agents they had met with and when, according to the second source.
Austin recently tweeted about a trip to Miami.
UNC athletic director Dick Baddour defended his school’s compliance department.
“We work hard on our compliance program, a program of integrity,” Baddour said. “We’re proud of it. We are also proud that, or we think very strongly that, we get an inquiry from the NCAA that we would comply, we would do what they asked us to do and we would do it forthright and completely.”
The NCAA doesn’t usually “poke around” unless there’s something to poke at. I think UNC could be in some trouble. So much for their stellar recruiting…
U$C (Univ. of Sanctioned Cheaters) is still the gold standard for cheating and playing by their own rules. Now it is a part of our lexicon.
The state of North Carlina needs a Law similar to that of Alabama whereby it’s illegal for agents to interact with amateur athletes. It really curtails the agent activity – something that is extremely difficult to police if you are an athletic department.
Of course, if you allow agents to visit your practices and openly have interaction with players, like USC did, then you are asking for big trouble.
Do they have to provide phone records to the NCAA?
I wouldn’t give them anything.
WingT,
Wouldnt have help USC though they got in trouble because of a wannabe sports marketing exconvict who was friends with RB’s parents. The open practices had nothing to do with it. I believe UCLA still has open practices.
Sounds like a good law though.
You mean they want to make sure no one banged (or is currently banging) Kim Kardashian?
[...] Stewart is mentioned as one of several people in the NOA who provided financial benefits to players (his name first pops up on pg. 24). Specifically, Stewart allegedly gave over $7,000 to Austin, Little and Brown, the bulk of which — again, supposedly — went to travel arrangements to Miami. [...]