The NCAA was back on UNC’s campus May 18 as part of the ongoing investigation into the UNC football program, spokesman Kevin Best said.
According to a report from ESPN.com, the investigator was interviewing UNC defensive end Quinton Coples. The rising senior was seen in pictures of a post-NFL draft party he attended in Washington, D.C. According to the report, the NCAA had questions about trip-related expenses.
As part of an internal policy instituted last year, UNC football players must sign out before they leave to go on trips, Best said. Best declined to comment on the specifics of whether or not Coples signed out when he attended the post-NFL Draft party in April.
According to the ESPN.com report, in the pictures, Coples is seen with former UNC players Marvin Austin and Robert Quinn, both of whom were punished as a result of the NCAA investigation of UNC football players accepting improper agent benefits.
According to a University report, Quinn accepted benefits worth $5,642. Athletic director Dick Baddour said the value of the improper benefits Austin received was between $10,000 and $13,000.
In October, the NCAA named Quinn permanently ineligible and Marvin Austin was dismissed from North Carolina’s program. Neither former Tar Heel played in a game during the 2010 season.
Quinn was selected in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft by the St. Louis Rams and Austin was taken in the second round by the New York Giants.
Coples made news last fall when he made an anti-gay comment on Twitter. Football coach Butch Davis banned his players from using Twitter shortly after the incident.
Coples played in all 13 games during the Tar Heels 2010 campaign and was UNC’s only first-team all-ACC selection. He also led the Tar Heels with 10 sacks and registered 59 tackles.
