The Awkward Absence of LOIC in the NOA for the NCAA

Could this get any more awkward for the NCAA?

Before we begin, it is important to understand the NCAA compliance model.  The basic underlying premise that the NCAA relies on to be successful is self policing.  The NCAA's investigative and enforcement division is too small to adequately oversee and investigate every college athletic team in the country.  As a result, it relies on member schools and their compliance departments to oversee compliance and self-report any violations.  Without cooperation from member schools, the NCAA model falls apart.  That is why schools that self-report violations get a break on sanctions and self-reported violations that result in self-imposed sanctions usually are adopted by the NCAA.  Failure to report is inviting the harshest wrath of the Committee of Infractions. 

As you should know, we received our Notice of Allegations (NOA) yesterday.  It was exactly as expected.  UNC has been engaged in a dance with the NCAA for several months to get to this point, so the allegations are of no surprise.  They are as follows:

Violation Reported by the Institution

Allegation 1 - Impermissible Academic Assistance ("Academic Fraud")

Allegation 2 - Improper Benefits Provided by Jennifer Wiley (The Tutor)

Allegation 3 - Ethical Conduct Violation by Jennifer Wiley

Allegation 4 - Receipt of Improper Benefits by Student Athletes

Violations Alleged by the Enforcement Staff

Allegation 5 - Ethical Conduct Violation by Marvin Austin

Allegation 6 - John Blake Marketed Players to an Agent Gary Witchard & Pro Tect Management

Allegation 7 - John Blake Failure to Report Pro Tect Management Income While Employed By UNC

Allegation 8 - Ethical Conduct Violation by John Blake

Allegation 9 - Failure to Monitor: Chris Hawkins and Social Media

I encourage you to read the NOA and form your own opinion.  I firmly believe you cannot rely on the media for valid information.  The national media is too lazy to completely understand the circumstances in Chapel Hill and the local media is too busy pitting the ABC crowd against Tar Heels and vice versa.  Either way, it is a race to the bottom in an effort to push ink.  The adjectives are meant to sensationalize and the facts are secondary to the headline.  Ultimately, if you are going to form an opinion, it should be an educated one, so read it for yourself.

For a former UNC player's perspective, check out Micheal Felder's blog In the Bleachers:

UNC Gets Its NOA: So, Now What?

Back to the awkward.

There is something known as the Carolina Way.  What the Carolina Way means depends on who you ask, but one of the definitions is to do things the right way.  It is a principle that started with Dean Smith following an embarrassing period that left the basketball program with a black eye thanks to Frank McGuire's fast and loose ways.  That was the last time the NCAA had any significant issues with the Tar Heels.  That was 1961.  Since then, UNC compliance has been used as a model for compliance departments around the country.  The biggest thing that can be said about the recent issues is that the compliance department wasn't ready for big time football.  It is not an excuse, but just an historical point of reference.  UNC is not a repeat offender.  We are traditionally the model of behavior.  Therefore, we have decades of goodwill built up with the NCAA.

Five years ago, a decision was made that UNC would invest in becoming competitive in college football.  It is no secret that big time football can be a dirty business, so we needed the right coach for the job.  He had to be someone that could not only attract good talent and build a program, but he had to be someone with the morals and integrity that would understand what the Carolina Way means and stands for.  That man was and is Butch Davis.  For a reference to his track record, please see the following article:

Coach Butch Davis aims to save Miami football no matter how many players he has to suspend, by William Nack of Sports Illustrated from August 19, 1996.

Butch is the man that built the program into a dark horse contender for the National Championship that many experts believe would have come to fruition if not for the selfish decisions of a few.  It is also the man that never hesitated to hold players out if their eligibility was in question.  It is important to remember that the reason Butch Davis is still our coach is not only for the fact he was never implicated in wrong doing, but because of the way he approached the issues and supported the investigation.  Butch Davis has a great reputation in coaching circles and athletics departments.  He is known as a man of integrity.  This is known by the NCAA.  More goodwill equity. 

Despite our best efforts, we still had infractions and, when the NCAA notified us that it would be on campus last summer, we approached it the Carolina Way.  We were fully cooperative and did not push back.  We made everything available.  When new information about academic issues came to light, we pursued every led to find the truth.  In an abundance of caution, every player in question was held out.  We cooperated with every aspect of the investigation and did everything the NCAA asked of us, including maintaining a media silence.  Over the past year, a segment of the fan base has questioned how accommodating Dick Baddour and Butch Davis have been for the NCAA, but there is a reason it was done this way.  It is the Carolina Way to do things the right way, even if it is hard and not popular.  As a result, we have more goodwill equity banked with the NCAA and Dickie should be congratulated for his handling of this situation. 

Understanding the modus operandi of the NCAA along with UNC and Coach Davis's history and cooperation as discussed above is a big reason there was no Loss of Institution Control (LOIC) alleged in the NOA and what separates UNC from OSU and USC.  OSU's head coach actively deceived the NCAA and misled the OSU compliance department, convincing them to sign off on a superficial investigation into improper benefits.  USC was hammered because they effectively thumbed their nose at the NCAA.  Following the delivery of the NOI, the USC AD told boosters that the NCAA was jealous because they weren't Trojans.  An example had to be made.  Because UNC handled the investigation the right way and was completely forthcoming, an example needed to be made to reenforce positive behavior and cooperation.  That meant that UNC avoided the harshest of punishments that are associate with a LOIC, post season and tv bans.  Thankfully, the NOA that was delivered is consistent with the expected punishments I enumerated in a previous post.  Probation, loss of scholarships, and vacation of wins from 2009 and probably 2008.  There is mention of 2010, but I doubt that 2010 comes into play considering the number of players that were held out.  

This lack of the Loss of Institution Control is what has put the NCAA in an awkward place, but it is the right place for them to be.

Never in the history of the NCAA has a coach been deemed a runner for an agent until now.  Allegation 6 is very serious and completely unprecedented.  Essentially, the NCAA has alleged that John Blake was in fact a runner for Gary Witchard, the godfather to Blake's son.

It is alleged that from 2007 to 2010, then assistant football coach John Blake partnered with Gary Wichard, National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) certified agent, and Pro Tect Management to represent individuals in the marketing of their athletic abilities in violation of NCAA legislation. Specifically, Blake was employed and compensated by Pro Tect Management to influence football student-athletes to hire Wichard to represent them in marketing their athletic abilities and reputations.

This is one of the worst allegation that could be levied against an individual or an institution.  Luckily, UNC has enough goodwill equity built up with the NCAA that this allegation is singularly levied at John Blake and John Blake alone.  John Blake and Jennifer Wiley have been labeled as a rogue coach and tutor operating well outside their scope of employment and well beyond what is deemed appropriate in the context of their duties with the intent to conceal that illicit activity. 

In context, a majority of the infractions alleged in the NOA are relatively small.  However, having an associate head coach acting as a runner for an agent is not and it had me worried.  The NCAA is going to have to bring the hammer down on Blake, but is it fair to punish UNC for his nefarious wrong doing when he intentionally deceived the university from the beginning of his employment and the NCAA gave UNC a rubber stamped employment blessing?  No, not in my opinion.  I promise you a biased, but objective dialogue, so take it as you will.  In my opinion, the only thing Carolina is guilty of is hiring an associate head coach with no official record with the NCAA.  Butch is guilty of is trusting a man he has known since he coached Blake as 16 year old that needed a break after going through a tough and troubling time.  Obviously, it was a mistake and Butch Davis has acknowledged it.  Shortly after the truth about Blake was known, Coach Davis said,

“I can promise you and tell you that if we would have ever known that any of these allegations were ever true, Coach Blake would have been dismissed.  I would have fired him.

I am very sorry that all of this stuff has tainted the football program and as the head football coach, there is a tremendous amount of responsibility for all of the football-related issues. 

I'm going to tell you what I am more sorry about: I'm sorry that I trusted John Blake.”

Thankfully, at UNC, we have strong leadership that is not prone to knee jerk reactions.  In a statement that was released with the NOA, Chancellor Thorp and Baddour said,

We deeply regret that Carolina is in this position. As we move forward, Coach Butch Davis and the two of us are focused on emerging from this as a stronger athletics program.

This stance was reaffirmed by Baddour in this interview with David Glenn.

David Glenn chats with Dick Baddour, June 22

So while the national media and rival fan bases might be calling for Butch's job, the administration and a large majority of Tar Heel Nation stand behind Coach Davis and look forward to the future with him at the helm.

What is awkward for the NCAA is the media fallout.

The media is acting as if there are new facts being brought to light in the NOA when everything has been in the public domain for months.  The NCAA is rehabbing their image after the Cam Newton/Auburn/Mississippi State pay-to-play debacle and the OSU Sugar Bowl, but the NCAA did the right thing here.  Over the next week or so, people will call for the worst things imaginable since SMU and the firing of Butch Davis despite the absence of a LOIC.  People will call the NCAA crazy for not alleging a LOIC, but those are the people that aren't paying attention.  For most journalists, especially national sports reporters, details and distinctions don't matter.  While the absence of a LOIC might be awkward for the NCAA, it is right.