UNC Faculty Wants an Outside Review of Athletics and Academics

"A report by a special faculty committee looking into the academic fraud scandal at UNC-Chapel Hill found an athletics program divorced from the faculty, academic counselors for athletes improperly helping them enroll in classes and poor oversight of faculty administrators who have wide latitude in running their departments. The three professors who wrote the report called for an independent commission of outside experts in higher education to review athletics and academics at the university."

After our story examining how many UNC basketball players majored in African & Afro-American Studies since Roy Williams took over at Chapel Hill, were heard responses – public and private – about the Tar Heels’ predicament. As you might imagine, some UNC fans are not concerned in the least. The Tar Heel Blog chose to look at the numbers this way:

"UNC basketball players began moving away from AFAM majors under Roy Williams and Walden’s departure had nothing impact since it had essentially already happened two years before."

That certainly is one way to look at it. The number of Tar Heels majoring in AFAM definitely began to dwindle leading up to Walden’s departure in 2009. The obvious follow-up question: Why, especially given how many players majored in it just a few years prior? Coincidence? Something else? We won’t know – may never know – until a judge releases the documents that are tied up in court, or maybe a disgruntled former athlete starts chirping. Which leads to another “why” – why is UNC so secretive about the documents? [News & Observer]