As the investigation into UNC’s football team begins to calm, athletic director Dick Baddour said he has a bit more free time on his hands.
“A few weeks ago, I was doing little else. I told my wife I didn’t know what normal was anymore, I was completely consumed,” Baddour told a crowd of freshmen Tuesday in Graham Memorial as part of the First Year Fellows program.
He went on to explain the four guiding principles of the athletics department: academic success, integrity, competition and overall experience of student athletes.
“Obviously in the last three months we’ve hit some stumbling blocks, but we still embody all of these qualities in everything we do,” Baddour said of the department’s core beliefs.
In the hour-long talk, Baddour shed a positive light in the wake of an investigation that rocked the athletics department, praising the football team for its resiliency in tough times.
“I’m telling you folks, you are watching an amazing team,” he said. “There are very few teams that could handle this type of situation. It is truly remarkable.”
He also stressed that the indiscretions of a few individuals should not reflect negatively on the entire department.
“I don’t think our academic success is in question,” he said. “I don’t think the statistics speak to that, nor do I believe the character of our 800 student athletes are in question.
“I certainly cannot run from the indiscretions that we’ve had, but I think we’ve responded and haven’t hidden a thing.”
