CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina uncovered possible additional NCAA violations in women’s basketball and men’s soccer while preparing the response to its long-running academic scandal, the school announced Friday.
Its response to the NCAA, due next week, has been delayed. The NCAA will set a date after a review of the new information, school officials said.
During a 20-minute conference call with reporters, Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham twice referred to the school’s ongoing effort to “earn back trust.”
“As painful as it is, it’s part of the Carolina culture that we want to know what happened, we want to understand it, we want to fix it,” he said.
Cunningham said the new information in women’s basketball was discovered when officials prepared to release emails from former U.S. Justice Department official Kenneth Wainstein’s eight-month investigation. In their review of up to 6 million pages of information, they uncovered more examples of possible improper academic assistance to players.
They potential recruiting violations over two years in men’s soccer that were unrelated to the current NCAA investigation.
“We came to understand the coaches misunderstood the rules, and we immediately turned that in,” Cunningham said.
Under NCAA procedures, if those are determined to be Level I or II violations, the notice of allegations must be amended to include them. The school would then have 90 days from the day it receives the amended notice to respond, Cunningham said.
The NCAA’s notice of allegations included five charges, outlining a lack of institutional control and four other potential Level I violations, which are described as a “severe breach of conduct.”
The NCAA regarded issues surrounding academic irregularities within the formerly named African and Afro-American Studies (AFAM) department as potential improper benefits by saying athletes received “special arrangements,” such as access to courses and other assistance generally unavailable to non-athletes.
TENNIS
Djokovic advances
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic survived two match points and rallied to beat Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis 5-7, 7-6 (7), 6-1 on Friday night in the Rogers Cup quarterfinals in Montreal. Djokovic will face France’s Jermey Chardy, a 6-7 (9), 7-6 (13), 7-6 (4) winner over American John Isner 6-7 (9), 7-6 (13), 7-6 (4) in the rain-delayed opening match. Fourth-ranked Kei Nishikori of Japan beat fourth-seeded Spanish star Rafael Nadal of Spain 6-2, 6-4. The tournament winner last week in Washington, Nishikori topped Nadal for the first time in eight attempts. In the other quarterfinals, second-seeded Andy Murray of Scotland faced 10th-seeded defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France. The Chardy-Isner match began nearly 2 hours late and was interrupted more than an hour in the second set by another shower. Chardy fought off seven match points, five in the second-set tiebreaker. Isner missed a volley at the net and then hit wide on a service return on set point.
• Top-ranked Serena Williams advanced to the Rogers Cup semifinals in Toronto on Friday night, beating Italy’s Roberta Vinci 6-4, 6-3. The winner of the first three Grand Slam events of the season, Williams will face Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, an 0-6, 6-3, 6-1 winner over fifth-seeded Ana Ivanovic of Serbia. Williams, 33, won titles in Toronto titles in 2001, 2011 and 2013. Earlier, second-seeded Simona Halep of Romania rebounded to beat sixth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 0-6, 6-3, 6-1. Halep will face 15th-seeded Sara Errani of Italy in the semifinals. Errani topped Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko 6-4, 6-4. In the doubles quarterfinals, the top-seeded team of Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Sania Mirza of India beat Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan 6-4, 6-2.
HORSE RACING
Italia wins 1st stakes
Sentiero Italia raced to her first stakes victory, sweeping past Miss Temple City in mid-stretch and pulling away for a 1 1/4-length victory Friday in the Grade 2 $300,000 Maker's Mark Lake Placid at Saratoga Race Course in New York. Trained by Kiaran McLaughlin and ridden by Joel Rosario, the 3-year-old Medaglia d'Oro filly ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.25 over the firm Mellon turf course. Sentiero Italia settled in fourth as pacesetting Heath was closely stalked by Consumer Credit and Miss Temple City. Rosario swung Sentiero Italia outside at the top of the stretch, closing steadily to wear down Miss Temple City. Sentiero Italia, owned by Godolphin Stable, paid $5.30, $3.10 and $2.40. Miss Temple City returned $4.20 and $2.70, Strict Compliance paid $2.20 to show.
FOOTBALL
Sam leaving Alouettes
Michael Sam is stepping away from pro football. Sam, the first openly gay player drafted by the NFL, has told the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes that he is leaving the team. "The last 12 months have been very difficult for me, to the point where I became concerned with my mental health," Sam tweeted Friday. "Because of this I am going to step away from the game at this time." The Alouettes confirmed in a release that Sam has left the club for "personal reasons" and that he has been added to the team's suspended list. He did not play in Montreal's home loss to Edmonton on Thursday night, with the team citing a sore back. He made his CFL debut the previous week. The 25-year-old defensive end, the 2013 Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year at Missouri, failed to record a tackle in Montreal's loss to Ottawa. Sam agreed to a two-year deal with the Alouettes this summer. He left training camp June 12, citing personal reasons, and sat out the team's first five games. Sam was selected in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL draft by the Rams, did not make the team, and spent some time on the Cowboys' practice squad before being released.
HOCKEY
Ducks sign F Hagelin
The Anaheim Ducks have signed newly acquired forward Carl Hagelin to a four-year contract worth $16 million. The Ducks announced the deal Friday. Hagelin was a restricted free agent after joining the Ducks in June in a trade with the New York Rangers, who got left wing Emerson Etem. Hagelin has 58 goals and 72 assists in 266 games with the Rangers, including all 82 games last season. He is an outstanding penalty killer who also scored 17 goals in each of the past two seasons. Hagelin played in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final. He also won a silver medal with the Swedish Olympic team in Sochi, playing alongside new Ducks teammate Jakob Silfverberg. The Ducks have re-signed all of their significant free agents heading into training camp next month.
ATHLETICS
WADA investigating
The World Anti-Doping Agency says it has begun investigating allegations by German broadcaster ARD and The Sunday Times newspaper in Britain that a third of medals in endurance races at Olympics and world championships were won by athletes who have recorded suspicious blood readings. The reports earlier this month analyzed the results of 12,000 blood tests involving 5,000 athletes from 2001 to 2012 -- leaked from an IAAF database -- and concluded that 800 were suspicious. WADA says an independent commission has already started work and will be supported by WADA staff "familiar with analytical results, testing and the Athlete Biological Passport." But WADA stressed "that no test data derived from the IAAF database prior to the adoption of the ABP in 2009 can be considered to be proof of doping."
OLYMPICS
WHO: Test for viruses
The World Health Organization said it "never advised against viral testing" for Rio de Janeiro's polluted waterways where about 1,400 athletes will compete in Olympic events next year. WHO told The Associated Press on Friday that monitoring for viruses "would be advisable." The statement comes after Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi said this week the International Olympic Committee ruled out viral testing after the WHO made it clear to them that bacterial testing was what "should be followed." The issue of viral testing is in the spotlight following an independent AP analysis of Rio's Olympic waterways that showed dangerously high levels of disease-causing viruses at all water venues for next year's games. Bruce Gordon, WHO's top water expert, says the agency "absolutely cares about viral pathogens" and knows viruses are in the waters.
Sports on 08/15/2015