Sports

NCAA Hits UNC with 5 Violations in Wake of Academic Scandal

Published

11 years ago

June 5, 2015

In this March, 2015 file photo, North Carolina head coach Roy Williams bows his head during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Virginia in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C. The NCAA has charged North Carolina with five violations connected to the school’s long-running academic fraud scandal, including a lack of institutional control for poor oversight of an academic department popular with athletes. (AP Photo/Bob Leverone, File)

AARON BEARD, AP Sports Writer

North Carolina’s long-running academic fraud scandal now includes five NCAA charges, including a lack of institutional control for poor oversight of an academic department popular with athletes and the counselors who advised them.

The school released a 59-page notice of allegations Thursday from the NCAA, which uses the document to specify violations uncovered during an investigation. The charges were more broad-based than focused on individual sports, with the NCAA regarding academic irregularities in the formerly named African and Afro-American (AFAM) Studies department as potential improper benefits by saying athletes received access to courses and other assistance generally unavailable to non-athletes.

No coaches were named in the five allegations, though one dealt specifically with the conduct of a women’s basketball adviser for providing too much help on research papers.

UNC must file a response to the NCAA within 90 days of receiving the notice, which would likely lead to a hearing with the infractions committee followed by a ruling weeks to months later.

“Everybody wants to bring closure to this,” athletic director Bubba Cunningham said Thursday. “It’s not a pleasant chapter in the history of the university.”

The list of charges include counselors providing “special arrangements” to athletes by working with AFAM faculty and staff, such as requesting course offerings or obtaining assignments for athletes, over a roughly nine-year period starting in 2002.

In charging a lack of institutional control, the NCAA said the school didn’t do enough to monitor the AFAM department nor the academic support program for athletes. That allowed for counselors to use the irregular courses to help keep at-risk athletes eligible “particularly in the sports of football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball,” according to the notice.

All five charges are considered potential Level I violations, described by the NCAA as a “severe breach of conduct.” Cunningham said it’s too early to speculate on potential sanctions the school could face.

“Everyone who loves Carolina is truly saddened by these allegations,” Hall of Fame basketball coach Roy Williams said in a statement. “We aspire to and work toward meeting higher standards than the actions that warranted this notice. Our university and numerous outside groups have looked at every aspect of our academic and athletic life. As a result, Carolina has implemented scores of new processes and checks and balances that have undoubtedly made us a better university. Hopefully, we will never again receive such a notice.”

The NCAA reopened its investigation last summer into academic misconduct, an offshoot of a 2010 investigation into the football program that led to sanctions in March 2012. The focus was courses often treated as independent studies that required no class time and one or two research papers, with many operating that way despite being scheduled as lecture classes.

An eight-month investigation conducted by former U.S. Justice Department official Kenneth Wainstein stated that office administrator Deborah Crowder — not a faculty member — typically handed out assignments then high grades after only a scan of the work.

Wainstein’s October report found problems running from 1993 to 2011 and affecting more than 3,100 students, with athletes across numerous sports accounting for roughly half the enrollments in problem courses.

The five charges listed in the NCAA’s notice are:

—There was a lack of institutional control in failing to “sufficiently monitor” the interactions between the AFAM and the academic support departments, noting athletes received “preferential access” to AFAM’s irregular courses.

—Academic counselors “leveraged” relationships from fall 2002 to summer 2011 with AFAM faculty and staff to provide athletes with benefits such as suggesting assignments, turning in papers for them and recommending grades. In addition, 10 athletes exceeded UNC’s 12-hour limit of independent study credits countable toward graduation between fall 2006 and summer 2011 due to misidentified “paper classes.”

—Women’s basketball counselor Jan Boxill provided improper assistance by sometimes adding content to athletes’ papers and recommended a grade for submitted work in at least one case.

—Crowder, one of two AFAM staffers most directly linked to the irregularities, didn’t cooperate with NCAA investigators.

—Former AFAM department chairman Julius Nyang’oro, the other staffer most directly linked to the irregular courses, also declined to cooperate.

Both Crowder, who retired in 2009, and Nyang’oro cooperated with Wainstein’s probe amid the backdrop of a criminal fraud investigation. Boxill resigned in February as a philosophy professor after the school informed her it planned to fire her after the release of Wainstein’s report.

The fraud case has led to several lawsuits from former UNC athletes against the school or NCAA, as well as questions from UNC’s accreditation agency.

The school announced May 22 it had received the NCAA’s notice, but didn’t release the document publicly until Thursday to redact information to comply with privacy laws.

___

Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap

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Sale of Coliseum to African American Developers Moves Toward Completion

The deal includes the sale of the Oakland Arena to an unidentified third-party buyer for no less than $100 million, which Bobbitt said was one of the most important aspects of the site’s future redevelopment.

Published

2 weeks ago

June 16, 2026

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The deal includes the sale of the Oakland Arena to an unidentified third-party buyer for no less than $100 million, which Bobbitt said was one of the most important aspects of the site’s future redevelopment.

‘This is on the precipice of actually occurring,’ said Ray Bobbitt, buyers’ representative

By Post Staff

After many months of complex negotiations, the Oakland Coliseum development deal is finally nearing an agreement that will open the way for new owners – the African Americans Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG) – to revitalize the sports complex and the Hegenberger Corridor in East Oakland.

On May 28, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a non-binding agreement to dispose of the County’s portion of the complex for $115 million in a deal with AASEG, with a closing date set for June 30.

“People are seeing that this is on the precipice of actually occurring,” said Ray Bobbitt, founder of the AASEG and an East Oakland native. “People feel that this needs to happen for Oakland, for East Oakland in particular,” Bobbitt said, as reported in the East Bay Times.

The agreement would transfer ownership of the 112-acre Coliseum complex property, which was owned 50-50 by Alameda County and the City of Oakland, to Oakland Acquisition Company, which is AASEG’s real estate wing.

The County’s approval marks an important step in the sale of the property, even though concerns about environmental liability remain. Under the terms of the non-binding agreement, the county will pay $115 million to Coliseum Way Partners, the corporate entity of the Oakland Athletics that had previously purchased the county’s half of the property for $85 million.

AASEG will then pay $115 million to the County in three annual payments, with 5% annual interest paid on any outstanding balance, according to the term sheet.

AASEG already negotiated a purchase of the city’s half of the property for $125 million in 2025, awaiting the sale of the county’s half.

A strong supporter of the sale, Supervisor Nate Miley said he was not “breaking out the champagne” until the sale was final. This is not perfect, but it is good.

“It’s good because the County ends up with more money,” Miley continued. “It’s good because an African American team takes ownership of the property, and they’ve got a lot of potential in terms of what they want to do with the property.”

A remaining disagreement between Alameda County and the AASEG involves environmental concerns.

AASEG wanted a “carve-out” for environmental concerns so that it would not face liability for the release of groundwater into San Francisco Bay without a permit. Obtaining a permit could be time-consuming and expensive, requiring the need for consultants, studies, and an oversight process by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board.

County supervisors unanimously supported the non-binding agreement without the carve-out, though Bobbitt said delaying or excluding the carve-out creates timing risks for the project.

“The motion is to accept the terms as presented, excluding the carve-out,” Board of Supervisors President David Haubert said. “Noting that it’s a non-binding term sheet and terms can always be discussed going forward. It’s been pointed out that that could affect the deal, timing, which we’ve been at this for nine years, but what’s a little more time?”

“The arena represents an anchor of the site,” said Babbitt. “This arena … has become a pop culture mecca, and the opportunity to enhance that and expand that is critical to the overall process.”

Speaking at the Board of Supervisors meeting, Miley explained the County’s reasoning behind some of the complex negotiations. He asked interim County Counsel Andrea Weddle:

“In layman’s term’s who’s on the hook for the environmental (cleanup)” under the current deal with the Oakland A’s?

“When the county with a former board entered in the deal with the (A’s), we took on all of the environmental obligations,” Miley said. “Since then, we’ve learned a lot more about the environmental conditions of the Coliseum.”

“If we do a deal with Coliseum Way Partners (the A’s), we remain on the hook,” she said. “If we do a deal as we’ve currently structured with OAC (AASEG), we have eliminated some or hopefully all (or) as much as we can of that liability and aligned our deal with the terms of the city.”

Bobbitt, despite his concerns, supported the nonbinding agreement. He said the public has waited nearly a decade to come to this point.

“The community support has been overwhelming,” he said. “We’ve used a lot of P-words: patience, perseverance, persistence. And we’ve just had to do it, and we understand how complex this has been.”

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Seth Curry Makes Impressive Debut with the Golden State Warriors

Seth looked comfortable in his new uniform, seamlessly fitting into the Warriors’ offensive and defensive system. He finished the night with an impressive 14 points, becoming one of the team’s top scorers for the game. Seth’s points came in a variety of ways – floaters, spot-up three-pointers, mid-range jumpers, and a handful of aggressive drives that kept the Oklahoma City Thunder defense on its heels.

Published

7 months ago

December 4, 2025

Oakland Post

Seth Curry is a point guard on the GSW team.Photo courtesy of the Golden State Warriors.

By Y’Anad Burrell

Tuesday night was anything but ordinary for fans in San Francisco as Seth Curry made his highly anticipated debut as a new member of the Golden State Warriors. Seth didn’t disappoint, delivering a performance that not only showcased his scoring ability but also demonstrated his added value to the team.

At 35, the 12-year NBA veteran on Monday signed a contract to play with the Warriors for the rest of the season.

One of the most memorable moments of the evening came before Seth even scored his first points. As he checked into the game, the Chase Center erupted into applause, with fans rising to their feet to give the newest Warrior a standing ovation.

The crowd’s reaction was a testament not only to Seth’s reputation as a sharpshooter but also to the excitement he brings to the Warriors. It was clear that fans quickly embraced Seth as one of their own, eager to see what he could bring to the team’s championship aspirations.

Warriors’ superstar Steph Curry – Seth’s brother – did not play due to an injury. One could only imagine what it would be like if the Curry brothers were on the court together. Magic in the making.

Seth’s debut proved to be a turning point for the Warriors. Not only did he contribute on the scoreboard, but he also brought a sense of confidence and composure to the floor.

While their loss last night, OKC 124 – GSW 112, Seth’s impact was a game-changer and there’s more yet to come. Beyond statistics, it was clear that Seth’s presence elevated the team’s performance, giving the Warriors a new force as they look to make a deep playoff run.

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Barbara Lee

WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries Kick Off Season with Community Programs in Oakland

“The Golden State Valkyries are more than a team—they’re a movement,” said Oakland Interim-Mayor Kevin Jenkins. “Their touchdown in Oakland marks a new era of opportunity, inspiration, and equity in sports. This partnership reflects our city’s deep commitment to uplifting women, investing in youth, and building a community where every dream has a place to grow. We’re proud to welcome the Valkyries to The Town.”

Published

1 year ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

The Valkyries came to Oakland City Hall with a “Hoopbus.” Present were (from left to right): City Councilmembers Noel Gallo, Rebecca Kaplan, Zac Unger and Rowena Brown; Oakland Mayor-elect Barbara Lee, Valkyries President Jess Smith, a Valkyries team representative and Deputy Mayor LaNiece Jones. Photo courtesy Rebecca Kaplan’s office.

Team installs new nets at playgrounds, holds flag-raisings at City Halls in Oakland and S.F.

Special to The Post

The Golden State Valkyries brought the excitement of their inaugural season to every corner of the Bay Area with a full slate of community celebrations leading up to their historic home-opener against the Los Angeles Sparks at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Friday.

The week featured flag-raising ceremonies at city halls in Oakland and San Francisco, three “Violet Net” installation days at Oakland parks to encourage basketball play, fun “Hoopbus” takeovers at multiple schools presented by Kaiser Permanente, and player appearances.

In total, 90 violet nets were installed on 45 basketball courts across 34 public parks throughout Oakland this week. A list of the parks receiving violet nets can be found at Valkyries.com.

About the Golden State Valkyries

The Golden State Valkyries, the WNBA affiliate of the seven-time NBA Champion Golden State Warriors, were announced as the 13th WNBA franchise on Oct. 5, 2023. According to Norse mythology, Valkyries are a host of warrior women who are fearless and unwavering – flying through air and sea alike.

This brand is Golden State’s modern interpretation of Valkyries: strong, bold, and fierce. Tipping off during the 2025 WNBA season, the team is headquartered in Oakland and will play home games at Chase Center in San Francisco. For Golden State Valkyries’ assets, including team logos, visit valkyries.com.