Taking "Paper Classes" in order to Attain Degrees was Commonplace for Athletes at The University of North Carolina
Over the course of 18 years, the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill continued to cheat the academic
system by allowing athletes to attain degrees fraudulently. Taking classes that
did not require attendance and only one paper at the end of the semester were
just the start of the malpractices that were in place. Even in the more
challenging courses, it was understood that the teachers had to give special
consideration and help to the athletes. Special consideration and help varied
from extra help for the athletes from the professor that was not available for
regular students to flat out boosting athletes’ grades in order for them to
pass. These practices are direct violations of academic integrity and National
Collegiate Athletic Association rules. Not to mention, the tainted reputation
that the University of North Carolina will have to repair in the midst of the
biggest academic scandal in college athletics history.
Deceptive System in Place was Ignored by Coaches
According to the report, one former head football coach, John Bunting, admitted to knowing of the paper classes and his successor, Butch Davis, also admitted some knowledge. Current men's basketball coach Roy Williams is steadfast that he did not know of any illegal activities. The detailed 131-page report is being shared with the NCAA and could have huge implications for the university in the long run. UNC has won three national championships for college basketball that could be in jeopardy along with countless wins thanks to this incident. And it wasn't just the revenue-generating sports that benefited. The report says that athletes in a wide range of sports were involved, and it notes a noticeable spike of enrollment of Olympic-sport athletes between 2003 and 2005. Therefore, the problems within the athletic program were not limited to the “kings of campus” on the football and basketball teams. Every single student athlete ended up benefiting from this illegal program.
In the graphic shown above, you can see that the paper classes program was not only being used, but actually gained popularity throughout the years. This is interesting considering the fact that some coaches at UNC still maintain, to this day, that they had no knowledge of the program. However, if you look at the chart, you can clearly see that the system was in place for many years with a significant portion of athletes partaking in the illegal program. It makes it hard to believe that not a single word got back to these coaches since statistically there is a large probability that some of their own players were in the program. Nonetheless, the graphic above does a good job of humanizing the information by comparing it to other tangible majors to show how deeply embedded this illegal system was in the fabric of the UNC athletics program.
Many of the academic-athletic staff who
were named and implicated by Wainstein were also named by university learning
specialist Mary Willingham, who went public with detailed allegations about
paper classes. After an assault on her credibility by the university, she has since filed a whistleblower suit. She also said there were many members of
the athletic staff who knew about the paper classes, and her revelations
contradicted what UNC had claimed for years -- that Nyang'oro acted alone in
providing the paper classes. The blame game is still currently going on at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill trying to find someone to take responsibility for this blatant breach of trust. Regardless, the coaches more than likely knew about it and willingly decided to turn a blind eye to it. Even if they did not know of what was going on, they should have better control of their team and been able to find out potentially being able to make a difference by attempting to end the system.
In this interview of Academic Advisor for Student Athletics here at the University of Maryland, Heather Arianna, you really get the feel that these practices in place were truly an anomaly in the world of college athletics. As you can assume, no one would ever say that they actually agree with the practices in place at the University of North Carolina. However, you can really see the conviction that Heather Arianna has with regards to this issue. This system goes completely against her moral code and she would not have let something like that happen here at the University of Maryland. It makes you wonder how there was not anyone this passionate or strong enough at UNC to stand up to the illegal practices in place.
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In this interview of Academic Advisor for Student Athletics here at the University of Maryland, Heather Arianna, you really get the feel that these practices in place were truly an anomaly in the world of college athletics. As you can assume, no one would ever say that they actually agree with the practices in place at the University of North Carolina. However, you can really see the conviction that Heather Arianna has with regards to this issue. This system goes completely against her moral code and she would not have let something like that happen here at the University of Maryland. It makes you wonder how there was not anyone this passionate or strong enough at UNC to stand up to the illegal practices in place.
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Possible Legal Ways to Address Academic Struggles of the Athletes
The first hints of scandal began in 2010, with allegations that some athletes were having improper contact with agents. As the university investigated, it found academic irregularities and finally announced, under pressure from The News & Observer, that there were classes where little work was required. For the next five years, the UNC administration was on the defensive, admitting only to allegations as they surfaced and never digging to the root of the problem. By comparison, in 2009, Florida State had an academic scandal that was considered huge. Sixty athletes were involved, a far cry from the numbers involved at UNC, he said. The scope and significance of this academic fraud is unprecedented in the college athletics.
In this clip, Heather Arianna is able to shed some light on just a few of the legal options that are available for student athletes here at the University of Maryland. Off the top of her head, she names multiple ways in which academic support is able to help the athletes, legally, in order to stay on top of their studies. With that being said, all of the options definitely require more work from both the athletes doing the schoolwork and the academic support staff to really help the busy and sometimes less adept athletes. However, it is the right thing to do and the lessons of hard work and responsibility for these athletes will carry over into the workplace for society along with the skills they will have accumulated.
Just recently, Rashad McCants, a member of the 2005 national champion basketball team at UNC, admitted to only taking sham classes the entire year. In his interview with ESPN, he outlined the understanding of what the University required from him during his time there. He was only at the University to play basketball and help the team win a national championship. Everything else academically was merely an afterthought. Fortunately, Rashad and his teammates ended up winning that national championship without really doing any schoolwork. But, was it really worth it now that McCants and other athletes in the system are now being asked to be functional members of society with little to no secondary education?
Possible Reformation of Academic Requirements for Student Athletes
Currently, the NCAA is discussing possible options to lighten the load for student athletes, especially while in season. With the growth and development of college sports into a multi-billion dollar industry, the travel schedule and time commitment placed upon the athletes is greater than ever. Therefore, it has only become increasingly harder for these athletes to keep up with their academic workload. As aforementioned, possible policies such as less homework or mandatory extensions for these athletes has been discussed within the NCAA. The train of thought is that if these athletes are given more academic leniency and time to really work on their assignments, then there would be less incentive for schools to even consider a program similar to that of UNC's.
Once again, Heather Arianna lends some insight into the possible changes that could be made available for student athletes. Believe it or not, she defends the current academic system that is in place and states that it is sufficient enough for any athlete to be successful. Heather Arianna takes great pride in what she does and takes a personal responsibility in each of her athletes graduating. It is her job to ensure the success of these athletes in the classroom and believes that the extra policies are not really necessary. This goes to show that here at University of Maryland, and most likely a majority of the other schools across the nation, are more than capable of providing enough support and help for the athletes to graduate with a legitimate degree and education.
Program in Place at UNC was Almost Certainly an Anomaly in World of College Athletics
After analyzing all of the given information, I believe that it is safe to say that what occurred at the University of North Carolina is not a common practice throughout Universities across the nation. From the scope of the program allowing phony degrees to the mass amounts of coaches and administrators ignoring it, it is clear that the scandal was a breakdown of moral integrity throughout the University of North Carolina. This entire scandal and situation is such a shame because UNC was regarded as one of the most prestigious public Universities in the nation. Now the reputation will have to be rebuilt over the years in the aftermath of the worst academic scandal in college athletics history. In the short-term, the program may have helped them win some national championships over that brief time period. But in the long-term, they will have to overcome any punishment handed down by the NCAA along with their stained reputation. A question I'll leave for you and the University of North Carolina is this: was it really worth it?
