Academic scandal hovering over N.C.
North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham has stopped trying to project when the NCAA case tied to the school’s multiyear academic scandal will reach a conclusion.
That’s because procedural hurdles, delays, even the NCAA’s struggle to settle on charges have the case crawling through the governing body’s infractions system.
In the meantime, the Tar Heels basketball program keeps rolling along; North Carolina is making its second consecutive trip to college basketball’s biggest stage at the Final Four, taking on Oregon Saturday in Glendale, Ariz.
“As I’ve mentioned numerous times, I’ve been inaccurate on estimating a timeline,” Cunningham said in an interview with the AP.
The Tar Heels (31-7) will arrive in Phoenix with the buzz of beating Kentucky, riding Luke Maye’s last-second shot into a record 20th Final Four a year after losing to Villanova on a superdramatic, final-play 3pointer in the championship game.
They don’t focus on the academic case that continues to linger in the background, one tied to irregularities in an academic department and leading to five broad- based charges against the school that include lack of institutional control.
It grew as an offshoot of a 2010 probe into the football probe, meaning the current basketball players — and athletes across campus, for that matter — were years away from arriving in Chapel Hill when it began.
The NCAA reopened its investigation in summer 2014 and first charged UNC in a Notice of Allegations (NOA) filed in May 2015.
It then revised the charges in a second version last April , and then changed them again in a third version filed in December.
Considering the school gets 90 days to respond followed by the NCAA enforcement staff getting 60 days of its own, each NOA adds roughly five months to the process — assuming there are no hiccups.
Elsewhere
Referee John Higgins of Omaha reported he received death threats after Kentucky’s loss against North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament, a Nebraska law enforcement official said Wednesday.
Higgins’ roofing company received about 3,000 harassing emails and an unknown number of phone calls, some including death threats, said Capt. Kevin Griger, investigations commander for the Sarpy County Sheriff’s Department.
North Carolina beat Kentucky, 75-73, Sunday to advance to the Final Four, winning on Luke Maye’s lastsecond shot.
Kentucky coach John Calipari opened his news conference with a comment about foul calls, complaining about freshmen stars Bam Adebayo, De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk each picking up two fouls in the first half.
“You know, it’s amazing that we were in that game where they practically fouled out my team. Amazing that we had a chance,” Calipari said.
Wednesday, Calipari tried to calm the fan reaction on Twitter.
“I always brag that we have the classiest fans in the country,” Calipari said. “Let’s make sure we remain that way even after a tough loss.”
The Facebook page for Higgins’ roofing company also was flooded with negative comments about Higgins and the quality of his company’s work. Griger described it as an orchestrated bid to “run down his Better Business Bureau rating.”
Higgins also spoke with Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer about death threats he received on his home phone, which has an unlisted number, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. The person requested anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
Dan Gavitt, the NCAA’s senior vice president of basketball, said Higgins is still scheduled to work one of the games in the Final Four Saturday. Higgins will be working his eighth Final Four.