Amended NOA alters possible NCAA scandal sanction outlook

noa1

Compiled by Bradley Saacks • Graphic by Kelsey Weekman

Individuals facing allegations

What’s the difference between the old Notice of Allegations and the new Notice of Allegations?

Sources cited

Factual information documents involved

Impermissable benefits

The University released its amended Notice of Allegations from the NCAA Monday. The NOA is a notice from the NCAA that tells the University what the agency’s investigation uncovered and the allegations stemming from it. The one released April 25 differed from the original notice sent last August on many fronts while repeating itself on other points.

Level 1 allegations against UNC

Length

Start date of athletic tutors and AFAM department relationship

Teams mentioned

Old NOA

Home

13 pages long

59 pages long

New NOA

Women’s basketball

Football Men’s basketball Women’s basketball

Back

Deborah Crowder Julius Nyang'Oro Jan Boxill

The NCAA cited its sources — 18 instances in total — for the reason Boxill was alleged to have violated a bylaw, but the other four violations do not have the same type of citation.

The NCAA cited the reports, emails and interviews that went into creating the allegations in the first notice.

112 documents and sources were involved in the creations of the amended NOA, said Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham in a conference call.

252 documents were released by the University after reviewing and redacting protected information.

They were not mentioned. Instead, the NCAA calls the paper classes in the former department of African and Afro-American Studies “impermissible academic assistance."

They were alleged to have occurred during the academic-athletic scandal.

The NCAA leveraged five level 1 allegations against the University.

The NCAA leveraged five level 1 allegations against the University. The new notice still cites the University for a lack of institutional control, but the impermissible benefits charge has been renamed.

According to the first NOA, the inappropriate relationship began in the fall semester of 2002. The Wainstein report says the fraudulent classes began in 1993.

According to the most recent NOA, the inappropriate relationship began in the fall semester of 2005 — three years after the first notice.

Compiled by Bradley Saacks • Graphic by Kelsey Weekman

Worries that the NCAA will make an example out of UNC with an over-the-top punishment were lessened with Monday’s release of the amended Notice of Allegations.

The notice differed from its August 2015 predecessor on several points: men’s basketball and football are no longer mentioned, and impermissible benefits that athletes received related to the fraudulent classes in the former Department of African and Afro-American Studies changed to “impermissible academic assistance.”

The start date of the allegations of an inappropriate relationship between the athletic tutors and the former department also changed from fall of 2002 to fall of 2005.

The NCAA still alleges that UNC committed five level one violations — including a lack of institutional control — but the focus is now solely on women’s basketball. The team’s former tutor, Jan Boxill, former secretary Deborah Crowder and former African and Afro-American studies department chairperson Julius Nyang’oro are the only people the notice alleges broke bylaws during the scandal, along with the entire University.

When asked about the changes, Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham said only the NCAA decided what constituted a bylaw violation despite the fact the investigation was conducted jointly by the NCAA and UNC.

“My concern is the five allegations I have in front of me,” Cunningham said multiple times during a half hour conference call with reporters.

The amended NOA focuses on Boxill and her role with the women’s basketball team. Despite the original August notice mentioning that the fraudulent classes disproportionately helped men’s basketball and football, tutors for those teams are not mentioned.

UNC’s reporting of new potential violations on the women’s basketball and men’s soccer teams in August extended the timeline of the NCAA’s investigation in August, but the men’s soccer team is not mentioned in the report. Cunningham said the men’s soccer violations have already been adjudicated.

The University has 90 days to respond to the new notice and Cunningham said UNC would likely use all 90 days, which would be July 24.

According to the amended notice, former philosophy professor Jan Boxill requested a grade for a student-athlete from the Department of Exercise and Sport Science and is also cited for misconduct in the departments of psychology, African-American studies and philosophy.

Her attorney, Randall Roden of Raleigh-based Tharrington Smith LLP, released a statement defending the former faculty chairperson.

“There is no legitimate reason for the women’s basketball team to be singled out for special scrutiny or punishment,” the statement said.

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