The NCAA has placed North Carolina's football program on three years' probation and banned it from the 2012 postseason, the governing body announced Monday.The school already had imposed several penalties, including vacating all 16 wins for 2008 and 2009, reducing nine scholarships over the next three academic years and putting the program on two years of probation.But the NCAA didn't stop at... [Read More]
The NCAA has granted North Carolina fullback Devon Ramsay a hardship waiver, giving him an extra year of eligibility in 2012.Team officials announced the NCAA's decision Saturday.Ramsay tore several ligaments in his left knee in the 2011 season opener against James Madison. He had surgery in mid-September and missed the rest of the season.He missed the 2007 season with a shoulder injury and... [Read More]
North Carolina Tar Heels receiver Dwight Jones has been reinstated and will play in the AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl.Interim coach Everett Withers said before practice Wednesday that the NCAA cleared Jones to play Dec. 26 against Missouri in Shreveport, La.The move came one day after the school declared Jones ineligible and applied to the NCAA for reinstatement following a secondary violation... [Read More]
North Carolina senior safety Matt Merletti injured his left knee in the first half of the Clemson game Saturday. Merletti sprained his MCL and ACL and will not return this season. He will have surgery within the next two weeks at UNC Hospitals. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Merletti leads the team with two interceptions and is tied for third on the team with 36 tackles. He is also a key... [Read More]
North Carolina has dismissed starting linebacker Ebele Okakpu from the team. Interim coach Everett Withers says the senior was dismissed for "conduct detrimental to the team," though he wouldn't elaborate further during his weekly news conference Monday. Okakpu started five games this year and had 14 tackles. Withers says Okakpu will remain on scholarship and has a chance to graduate... [Read More]
North Carolina will vacate all 16 football victories from the 2008 and 2009 seasons, as well as reduce scholarships and put its program on two years of probation as self-imposed penalties following an NCAA investigation into improper benefits and academic misconduct. In Monday's response to the NCAA's notice of allegations outlining nine violations, the school says it will cut three scholarships... [Read More]
North Carolina cornerback Jabari Price will miss six weeks after having surgery on his left hand. The school said Price had the operation Friday at UNC Hospitals to repair a tendon in his hand. He injured it during a blocking drill in practice Tuesday. Team officials say they will update the sophomore’s status in six weeks. Price played in 13 games last season and started the... [Read More]
A group of North Carolina football supporters who agreed to help fund Kenan Stadium’s “Blue Zone” project wants more information about why head coach Butch Davis was fired – and may explore legal action depending on the answers they receive. Don Brown, one of five attorneys representing the group, had his firm fax a public records request to UNC Monday asking for all correspondence – including... [Read More]
North Carolina chancellor Holden Thorp says he regrets breaking NCAA rules by discussing a scholarship offer from fired football coach Butch Davis to Davis' son. Thorp told The News & Observer of Raleigh and The Charlotte Observer he was disappointed the coach offered Drew Davis a scholarship without consulting Thorp or athletic director Dick Baddour. Drew Davis is a senior quarterback at... [Read More]
North Carolina named Everett Withers its interim head coach to replace the ousted Butch Davis. Withers has been the Tar Heels’ defensive coordinator and secondary coach the last three seasons. UNC moved quickly in naming Withers. Chancellor Holden Thorp and athletic director Dick Baddour held a joint press conference Thursday morning to address the dismissal of Davis. Baddour also announced he... [Read More]
Dick Baddour will step down as athletic director at North Carolina, the announcement coming a day after the school fired football coach Butch Davis amid an NCAA investigation into the... [Read More]
North Carolina football coach Butch Davis was fired Wednesday, the school announced. The decision was made by the chancellor Holden Thorp and that allegations related to academic impropriety were the biggest factor. Though Davis' personal cell phone records are scheduled to be released soon, the source said that no new allegations had been brought forward. If UNC has no claim to fire Davis... [Read More]
North Carolina coach Butch Davis said Monday he has never thought of quitting amid an NCAA investigation into his program, adding that he takes responsibility "fully and completely" for the events that created a year of turmoil in Chapel Hill. Speaking at the Atlantic Coast Conference's preseason media day, Davis said it has been "reassuring" to have the support of athletics... [Read More]
A judge has denied a request by a former University of North Carolina football player to be reinstated to the team. Durham County Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson on Wednesday denied the request by Michael McAdoo to compel the school to reinstate him, as well as an injunction against the NCAA for sanctioning the school if it brought him back. The decision followed a two-hour hearing. According... [Read More]
A former North Carolina football player has filed a lawsuit against the school and the NCAA, seeking reinstatement after being declared permanently ineligible for academic misconduct. Defensive end Michael McAdoo is also seeking unspecified damages from the school and the NCAA, which the lawsuit accuses of "gross negligence'' in ruling him ineligible
North Carolina has identified eight football players who accumulated 317 parking tickets that were uncovered in documents requested by media outlets covering the ongoing NCAA probe. The school released a chart Friday that links those players' names to their license plate numbers on vehicles that included a Land Rover, BMW and an Acura. A week ago, the school released records that showed some... [Read More]
North Carolina has received a notice of allegations from the NCAA outlining violations in the football program. Team spokesman Kevin Best confirmed that the school had received the notice and that UNC planned to release it later Tuesday. The NCAA has been looking into improper benefits and academic misconduct involving a tutor since first visiting the Chapel Hill campus last summer. The... [Read More]
Former North Carolina assistant coach John Blake was in communication with UNC football players Marvin Austin and Cam Thomas during their trip to a training facility in California before the 2009 season. Cellphone records obtained following a court ruling in a lawsuit filed against the university by The (Raleigh) News & Observer, The Charlotte Observer
North Carolina has released documents showing a group of Tar Heels football players accumulated more than $13,000 in parking citations over a 3˝-year period. The school released the documents Thursday, a day after the state Court of Appeals denied the school's request to delay the release of those records pending an appeal. A Wake County Superior Court judge had ruled in April... [Read More]
