North Carolina’s football program had become so dependent on Deborah Crowder, the former manager of UNC’s African and Afro-American Studies department, and her use of irregular classes to keep a stream of players academically eligible over 18 years that her retirement in 2009 caused a panic among the program’s academic counselors.
Two academic counselors hammered home that point in a PowerPoint presentation to the coaching staff, including former head coach Butch Davis. Their intent was to provide a “clear warning” and “ring the alarm bell” for what the paper classes had meant.
In that presentation, football counselor Beth Bridger prepared a slide titled “What was part of the solution in the past?” that enumerated the value of the paper classes. The slide read:
“We put them in classes that met degree requirements in which:
• They didn’t go to class
• They didn’t take notes, have to stay awake
• They didn’t have to meet with professors
• They didn’t have to pay attention or necessarily engage with the material”
AFAM/AFRI SEMINAR COURSES
• 20-25 page papers on course topic
• THESE NO LONGER EXIST!
This latest investigation was conducted by former federal prosecutor Kenneth Wainstein at the request of the university. Wainstein told reporters Wednesday that Crowder, who was largely responsible for creating the fraudulent classes, was motivated by a belief that UNC's athletes weren't being supported by the university.
University chancellor Carol Folt said that disciplinary action will be taken against those connected to the probe.
Full statement RT @InsidetheNCAA: Joint statement from UNC and NCAA regarding Wainstein Report: pic.twitter.com/H6bkRUpG9j
— Emily James (@NCAAEmily) October 22, 2014Tweet