UNC Receives Notice of Allegations Amid Academic Irregularities Examination

The University of North Carolina has been under investigation by the NCAA for academic irregularities since 2011, and a big step toward an eventual resolution was taken Friday with the delivery of a Notice of Allegations to UNC.

According to Greg Barnes of Inside Carolina, UNC has received the NOA, which will get the ball rolling with regard to potential disciplinary action.

However, Kevin McGuire of CollegeFootballTalk notes that the allegations themselves will not be revealed until a yet-to-be-determined date:

UNC Chancellor Carol L. Folt and Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham released a joint statement on the notice:

"

We take these allegations very seriously, and we will carefully evaluate them to respond within the NCAA’s 90-day deadline. The University will publicly release the NCAA’s notice as soon as possible. The notice is lengthy and must be prepared for public dissemination to ensure we protect privacy rights as required by federal and state law. When that review for redactions is complete, the University will post the notice on the Carolina Commitment website and notify the news media. When we respond to the NCAA’s allegations, we will follow this same release process.

Consistent with NCAA protocols, the University cannot comment on details of the investigation until it is completed.

"

The idea of potential academic misconduct at UNC became mainstream last October when former Tar Heels basketball star Rashad McCants claimed to Outside The Lines that athletes were given preferential treatment in order to remain academically eligible, according to ESPN.com's Steve Delsohn.

One can only assume that McCants' claims will be a significant part of the NOA, but it remains to be seen what else has been uncovered by the NCAA.

This process looks to be far from over, but the fact that North Carolina is now aware of the allegations against it means that potential sanctions could be forthcoming. 

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter