Expanding UNC Football Investigation: Lack of Institutional Control?

The latest revelations from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill bring with them not only a much more likely losing season, but also the potential of a finding that there was a "lack of institutional control."

This, the heaviest and worst possible sanction given by the NCAA other than the Death Penalty (where a sport is banned from the university for a period of time), could result in sanctions that remove scholarships and penalize the university with the loss of wins and potential return of revenue to the NCAA.

The recent rise in the Tar Heels football team is clearly in jeopardy. Because it has been reported that much of its outstanding defense may have to sit out games until the investigation is concluded, UNC will be considered a sure loser in several games where they are likely not to be even competitive, starting with the LSU clash next week.

Much worse, however, is that the extremely clean, long-running reputation of UNC as an academic institution may have been terribly stained by the ongoing investigations. 

The Current NCAA Investigation

The current investigation appears to involve only a few athletes. While these are prominent, likely first rounders, the danger to the institution and to the Tar Heels football team still seems limited. Agent problems apparently have existed in several programs, with the most significant to date USC's situation. No one currently thinks that it will result in the type of sanctions brought against that school.

In addition, UNC and the NCAA apparently are conducting a joint investigation of the issues involved. For most programs, especially one previously very clean, this form of joint investigation may be commonplace. However, the way the investigation was announced and the facts disclosed thus far are very limited in scope. 

The worst aspect of this investigation for institutional control is the fact that Marvin Austin was a prominent Tweeter, so some if not much of his actions are and were public, including a reference to going to the party in Miami.

Most Recent UNC Investigation

During the course of the current investigation, UNC discovered something that is likely much worse in the eyes of the NCAA. Namely, the NCAA treats academic fraud as one of the most severe problems an institution can face. Here, the allegations are that many members of the Tar Heels defense were not writing papers at the university. Instead, one or more tutors were doing so.

According to athletic director Dick Baddour, the conduct involves "possible academic misconduct involving a former tutor and student-athletes on the football team."

The largest concern to UNC is if it turns out this is a problem stretching into other sports. According to UNC Athletic Director Dick Baddour, "While the investigation is centered on the football program, we will certainly use the opportunity to take a complete look at everything that we're doing in the academic support program."

Florida State's situation, which included problems in nine other sports programs and 61 athletes, currently appears far worse. Yet, if it turns out the problems of academic fraud are more widespread, the numbers could dramatically increase.

NCAA's Lack of Institutional Control, Not the Death Penalty

The Death Penalty, which is the right of the NCAA to ban a sport for a period of time, was instituted for those institutions that were multiple offenders. UNC is not a multiple offender and thus will not face these sanctions.

On the other hand, the NCAA paper entitled "Institutional Control and Failure to Monitor" shows that a lack of institutional control finding against UNC is possible if only based on multiple failures to monitor:

d. Multiple failures to monitor can be viewed as a lack of institutional control.

e. In failure to monitor cases, adequate systems for compliance often exist, but the institution fails to pay proper attention to a limited area and/or for a limited period of time.

Could a solid NCAA case be brought against UNC for the failure to monitor and thus result in a finding of a lack of institutional control?

There are facts here that suggest such a finding is possible, especially if the paper and/or test taking scandal erupts into a broader-based problem in more than one sport. However, even if only in the Tar Heels football program, the number of problems could be enough for such a finding.

UNC Academic Tradition and Possible UNC Sanctions

UNC is the oldest public university to admit students in the United States. It did so in 1795, years ahead of the University of Georgia. It has many schools within the university that are world recognized, considered among the best in the nation.

Despite the less affluent state where it was located, UNC was always one of the top recipients of state largess. It is one of the crown jewels of North Carolina. Its reputation, to now, has been impeccable.

Recent investigations conducted by universities of the same quality of UNC have resulted in substantial self-imposed penalties for NCAA violations. The latest is that conducted by the University of Michigan, which recommends that it place its football program on a two year probation, reprimanded the coach and others, and trimmed the number of assistants and limited practice time.

In discussing why it did not impose more sanctions, the school decided not to take away scholarships or eliminate coaching positions because:

"That's usually a result of something deemed to be an offense that created a competitive advantage. Those kind of sanctions are also typically related to academic fraud, gambling, recruiting violations and extra benefits."

Because of the fact that the violations being investigated are those that involve academic fraud (the latest investigation) and extra benefits (the NCAA investigation), UNC may find this standard more difficult and could end up taking away scholarships and imposing more stiff sanctions against the football program. 

A bigger question is whether, as Michigan found,

"The university agrees that it failed as a whole to adequately monitor its football program to assure compliance regarding the limitations upon the number, duties and activities of countable football coaches and the time limits for practice. The university also agrees that Rodriguez failed to satisfy the monitoring responsibilities required of head coaches."

If Butch Davis is seen in this light, given the severity of the current investigation, it is possible that he will be treated far more harshly by UNC. The connections to Davis are closer now, including the fact that the tutor involved also taught his son. And the other ongoing investigation deals with matters that are subjects of required head coach monitoring, including possibly the Twitter messages by one of his star athletes.

One thing is certain. If a stronger connection between Davis and the violations is found, Davis could have a hard time keeping his job.

And that is The Real Truth.