The North Carolina Basketball program has typically been one with a relatively squeaky clean image. Even in the midst of the recent academic scandal involving the UNC football team, the Tar Heels hoops program came through mostly unscathed.
However, new allegations have surfaced, mainly from former Tar Heel Rashad McCants, which have cast a shadow on the university, the basketball program, and head coach Roy Williams in particular. While nothing has been substantiated at this point, the alleged academic indiscretions have put UNC in an unwanted spotlight.
McCants, a member of North Carolina's 2005 national championship team, appeared on ESPN's "Outside The Lines" and explained how he had taken "paper classes" and had tutors complete work for him, while he rarely attended classes. Despite such a schedule, according to McCants, he still received straight A grades and made the Dean's List in 2005.
"I thought it was a part of the college experience, just like watching it on a movie from 'He Got Game' or 'Blue Chips,'" McCants told "Outside The Lines." "... when you get to college, you don't go to class, you don't do nothing, you just show up and play. That's exactly how it was, you know, and I think that was the tradition of college basketball, or college, period, any sport. You're not there to get an education, though they tell you that."
During his tenure in Chapel Hill, McCants was enrolled in 18 classes from the university's Department of African-American Studies, which has recently drawn the scrutiny of the NCAA for its alleged propensity to allow sporadic classes and easy grades for UNC football players. As part of the course schedule, athletes allegedly took classes that required nothing more than one paper per semester, and tutors, according to reports, wrote those. Basketball players had remained on the outskirts of the investigation, but McCants' remarks have brought all UNC athletes into the discussion.
Mary Willingham, a former North Carolina learning specialist who helped bring the university's academic issues to the public a few years ago, agrees with McCants' story based on what she saw going on with athletes from roughly 2004 to 2012.
"What he is saying absolutely lines up with what I have found: tutors writing papers for players, and advisers and tutors steering players to AFAM," Willingham said. "I think the coaches knew about the paper-class system. Of course they did."
McCants also claims that the coaches knew about the fraud, but swept it under the rug in the interest of winning games. He names Williams specifically in his allegations.
"[Williams] said, you know, we're going to be able to figure out how to make it happen, but you need to buckle down on your academics," McCants recounted. " 'We're going to be able to change a class from, you know, your summer session class and swap it out with the class that you failed, just so the GPA could reflect that you are in good standing.' "
The UNC Athletic Department has been quick to downplay, if not discredit McCants' story. Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham explained that the former player's singular accusations are unfounded and irrelevant when compared to the experience of a majority of other former student-athletes from Chapel Hill.
"I have gotten to know some of Mr. McCants' teammates, and I know that claims about their academic experience have affected them deeply," Cunningham told “Outside the Lines.” "They are adamant that they had a different experience at UNC-Chapel Hill than has been portrayed by Mr. McCants and others.
"It is disappointing any time a student is dissatisfied with his or her experience. I welcome the opportunity to speak with Rashad McCants about returning to UNC to continue his academic career -- just as we have welcomed many former student-athletes interested in completing their degrees."
It bears noting that no other current or former athletes from North Carolina, nor any employees of the university's academic tutoring center responded to interview requests from “Outside the Lines.”
Whether the allegations against North Carolina are true or found to be false, the situation sheds even more light on the win-at-all-costs philosophy that seems to pervade the fabric of major college athletics. If, in fact, North Carolina cheated to keep players eligible and in good standing with the NCAA, then fans should expect major sanctions and punishments. If proven false, there will still be a cloud over the athletic programs in Chapel Hill.
If nothing else, the allegations raise questions to even the most die hard fans. If fraud happens at UNC, where else does it occur? Is it okay as long as everyone else engages in the same behavior? To what degree are fans and boosters willing to look the other way as long as their teams are having success on the court? How much does the NCAA really care in light of the revenue it receives because of schools like North Carolina?
The questions abound, but one remains the single most important one to answer: Are fans of college athletics really ready and willing to find out the answers?