NCAA to hear UNC football appeals Friday

The NCAA will hear appeals from Kendric Burney and Deunta Williams this Friday, athletic director Dick Baddour said Wednesday.

Baddour said he expects a decision will come that day.

Burney and Williams face suspensions of six and four games, respectively, for receiving improper benefits.

An NCAA ruling on other players could come soon as well, he said. The University has made additional reinstatement requests for others ruled ineligible.

Once the NCAA is asked to reinstate a student-athlete’s eligibility, staff will review the individual case and determine what penalty any violations merit.

Baddour said it was too early to tell if any decisions would be made this week.

UNC initially held out 13 players amid allegations of receiving improper benefits from agents and academic misconduct.

The University has not said which players are part of which investigations, only that some players are part of both.

Three have been cleared of any wrongdoing, while Burney and Williams were penalized last week.

In addition to being sidelined, the two players must repay some of the more than $1,000 in benefits each received. Burney owes $575.19 and Williams $450.67.

Officials said last week that the academic side of the case had been passed to the Honor Court. Baddour said it’s possible for the NCAA to rule on individuals involved in academic misconduct before the Honor Court finishes its process.

“They could do either,” he said. “I think their preference is to wait for the Honor Court.”

The tutor involved with the academic misconduct hasn’t participated in the investigation despite multiple requests, Baddour said.

“I suspect there are things we could have been told that could have confirmed what we knew, or that could have sent us in a different direction, that could have caused us to dig deeper,” he said.

The University learned about the tutor while it was investigating the initial reports of improper contact with agents.

The tutor’s name came up in regard to a trip with a player that the school looked into, he said.

“I really can’t go into the details of that, but it caused us to look in certain areas,” Baddour said.

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