COLLEGE FOOTBALL UNC players were caught selling shoes
Athletic director says the school self-reported the NCAA violation
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham said Thursday morning the school self-reported an NCAA violation because it found that football players were selling shoes.
That is against NCAA rules. The news of the violation was first reported by WRAL’s Jeff Gravely on Wednesday afternoon, after UNC appeared at the ACC’s annual football media day in Charlotte.
Cunningham said he didn’t know offhand how many players were selling shoes.
“There were a number of students,” Cunningham said at a break during a UNC Board of Trustee’s meeting. “Off the top of my head I don’t have it right in front of me, but all the penalties will be determined within the next couple of weeks.”
The news of the violation also comes less than a year after the NCAA wrapped up a multiyear investigation into whether many of UNC’s athletes benefited from African-American Studies courses that never met and required little work.
UNC was not penalized after the conclusion of that investigation.
The most recent violation was deemed “a secondary violation,” which is considered minor. But Cunningham said it was possible that players could be facing suspension.
In March 2017, UNC announced its partnership with Jordan Brand and its football program. During the 2017 football season, UNC, which had previously worn Nike, wore the Jumpman logo on its jerseys. In January, UNC’s equipment staff tweeted out a video showing an exclusive pair of Air Jordan 3 retros that its coaches and players had received.
It is unclear if those were the shoes some players sold, but UNC said it self-reported the violation upon learning about it in February. According to NCAA Bylaw 16.11.2.4, “Items Received for Participation in Intercollegiate Athletics,” “An item received for participation in intercollegiate athletics may not be sold or exchanged or assigned for another item of value.”
“It’s disappointing,” Cunningham said. “You know we do a great job. I think our compliance office does a great job with education, and students know the rules, and occasionally we make mistakes. We had a couple of students who made some mistakes, and there’s obviously penalties associated with that.”
CLEMSON: After upping defensive coordinator Brent Venables’ salary to $2 million a year in February, the school extended the deal to five seasons through 2022 and added retention bonuses that make the package worth $11.6 million.
“Brent’s extremely excited. We’re very happy to have him here,” Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich said.
Venables, 47, has long been considered one of college football’s top defensive leaders, helping Oklahoma win a national title in 2000 and doing the same at Clemson in 2016.
He turned the Tigers into one of the country’s best defenses since arriving in 2012. They led the Football Bowl Subdivision in total defense in 2014, then were 10th, eighth and fourth the past three seasons.