NCAA lets North Carolina off the hook in academic fraud scandal

The NCAA has finally concluded an investigation into alleged academic fraud at North Carolina that lasted several years, and the university has essentially gotten off scot-free.

On Friday, the NCAA revealed that its Committee on Infractions could not conclude that the University of North Carolina violated NCAA academic rules by making phony classes available to students. The overall takeaway is that the “paper courses” were offered to all students, not just student-athletes.

“While student-athletes likely benefited from the so-called ‘paper courses’ offered by North Carolina, the information available in the record did not establish that the courses were solely created, offered and maintained as an orchestrated effort to benefit student-athletes,” Greg Sankey, the panel’s chief hearing officer and commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, said in a statement. “While student-athletes likely benefited from the courses, so did the general student body,. Additionally, the record did not establish that the university created and offered the courses as part of a systemic effort to benefit only student-athletes.”

According to the original report that started the investigation, one particular class called “AFAM 280: Blacks in North Carolina” had 19 students enrolled in it, and 18 were football players and the other was a former football player. The class supposedly did not show up on the school enrollment calendar until days before it began, leading many to believe it was not intended to be available to the general student population.

Just two violations were found by the NCAA’s committee, and neither will have an impact on any of UNC’s athletic programs. Both violations had to do with school officials not cooperating with the investigation, and those individuals were sanctioned.

We have seen examples of just how embarrassing the courses were that were offered, whether they were created just to benefit student-athletes or not. Believe it or not, UNC says the courses did not violate school policy at the time.

UNC spent millions of dollars in legal fees over the past seven years as it dealt with the scandal, and that was apparently money well spent.