Tar Heels coming to Atlanta amid scandal

By Jeff Haws

For the AJC

This was supposed to be the year that North Carolina made its break into the national spotlight.

With a stout defense built by fourth-year coach Butch Davis and a No. 18 preseason ranking -- their highest since 1998 -- the Tar Heels appeared poised to contend in the ACC's Coastal division and try to win a conference title.

But this summer, the NCAA launched an investigation into the program, specifically looking at whether defensive tackle Marvin Austin and wide receiver Greg Little received improper benefits from agents. If the allegations were found to be true, the players would be ruled ineligible, and North Carolina would have to vacate last season's victories.

Then Thursday, the school announced it has uncovered possible academic violations during its investigation. North Carolina chancellor Holden Thorp said the issue involves a former undergraduate tutor and multiple student-athletes on the football team. The tutor in question is a former academic coach and advisor for Davis' son.

On Saturday, the Tar Heels will take the Georgia Dome field against LSU, and it's unclear who will play for them, as Davis has been forced to shuffle his lineup in order to guard against further sanctions of players who may be ineligible.

One game may not be foremost on the mind of Davis and North Carolina fans, though. It certainly isn't No. 1 on Thorp's agenda.

"We are treating this issue with the seriousness that you would expect from this university," Thorp said during Thursday's news conference. "We will straighten this out. We are still gathering information, but our hope is that the scope of this is limited."

Regardless, the now-multiple investigations into potential NCAA rules violations that could lead to significant sanctions against the program have left a dark cloud hanging over what looked to be a promising season for the Tar Heels.

How the team will react on the field is anyone's guess until kickoff Sept. 4 in the Georgia Dome. Practice, of course, has continued for the football team, and the games will go on as scheduled, whatever the NCAA and the school may find.

"It's a difficult situation for [Davis] and the team to prepare," athletic director Dick Baddour said during Thursday's news conference. "We're proceeding with this as fast as we know how. And [Davis] has got to make some assumptions about how he prepares for the game. [If] we get to a certain point next week and we don't have a declaration about a player, we aren't backing off. We're going after that full force."

Which players and coaches will survive the investigation is impossible to say at this point.

What's clear is, with one of the biggest spotlights on Tar Heels football in a while set to shine at the Georgia Dome, Davis and his team are receiving attention for things other than football.