The Tar Babies have officially lost 13 blackletes due to ineligibility for one reason or another.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5527407
Six North Carolina starters -- defensive tackle Marvin Austin, cornerback
Charles Brown, cornerback Kendric Burney, wide receiver
Greg Little,
defensive end Michael McAdoo and defensive end Robert Quinn -- have
been declared ineligible for the Tar Heels' season-opening game against
No. 21 LSU for "violating school and/or NCAA rules," the university
announced Friday.
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<h4>Dinich: Big Losses Before Opener</h4>
The news that multiple UNC players are ineligible for the season opener
is a punch in the gut -- and not just for the Tar Heels' chances at
beating LSU (game over). Their season has been compromised, Heather
Dinich writes.
Blog
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Six other players will also be withheld
from the game while the NCAA's two-pronged investigation continues.
Those six are: tailback
Shaun Draughn, defensive end Linwan Euwell, safety Brian Gupton, tailback
Ryan Houston, safety Da'Norris Searcy and safety
Jonathan Smith.
Safety
Deunta Williams was declared ineligible late Friday while starting
linebackers Quan Sturdivant and Bruce Carter were cleared to play.
The
total number of games that the players other than Sturdivant and Carter
are expected to miss has not yet been determined, as the NCAA
investigates possible improper contact with agents, along with
allegations of academic misconduct.
"We are still working with the
NCAA staff to resolve these eligibility issues," athletic director Dick
Baddour said in a statement. "The NCAA is focusing on each of their
situations on a case-by-case basis. Together we are working to determine
their status in as thorough and fair a process as is possible."
Investigators
from the North Carolina Secretary of State's office have also
subpoenaed Austin, The Associated Press reported Friday.
Secretary
of State Elaine Marshall is reviewing whether sports agent laws have
been broken. That probe follows an NCAA investigation that focused
initially on whether Austin and Little got improper benefits from agents
but has since expanded to include possible academic violations.
Marshall's office has sent out notices to agents asking them not to destroy evidence or documents.
George Jeter, a spokesman for the Secretary of State's office, declined to comment on the subpoena.
"All I can say is it's an active, ongoing inquiry at this time," he said.
<div ="mod-container mod-no-footer mod-inline - right mod-no-er-footer"><div ="mod-"><h4>CFB - What UNC lost</h4>
Updates
with news that Bruce Carter and Quan Sturdivant have been cleared to
play
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Based on list of the following defensive players not playing or not
traveling with the team: Robert Quinn, Michael McAdoo, Kendric Burney,
Charles Brown, Marvin Austin, Brian Gupton, Da'Norris Searcy,
Jonathan Smith, Linwan Euwell, Deunta Williams:<h4>North Carolina Defensive Losses - Based on Reported Suspensions/Ineligibility</h4>
<table>
<t>
<tr>
<th>
</th>
<th>2009</th>
<th>Pct of Team Total</th>
</tr>
</t>
<t>
<tr>
<td>Tackles</td>
<td>328</td>
<td>38.8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>TFL</td>
<td>43</td>
<td>41.0</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Int</td>
<td>15</td>
<td>78.9</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Fum rec</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>50.0</td>
</tr>
</t>
</table></div></div>
North Carolina, ranked 18th, is
also working with the NCAA today to determine the eligibility status of
three other unnamed players who will not travel to Atlanta for the
Chick-fil-A kickoff. The Tar Heels left Friday morning.
"We're
obviously very disappointed to learn that the actions of a number of our
student-athletes have resulted in their being unable to compete in
Saturday's game," Baddour said in a statement. "It is important to note
again that people should not make assumptions as to the nature of each
student-athlete's involvement with these issues."
It's unclear how
many games Quinn, McAdoo, Burney, Brown, Little and Austin will miss,
though the announcement is a massive blow for a program that entered
coach Butch Davis' fourth season in position to contend for an Atlantic
Coast Conference championship.
Austin, Little and Burney were
among six players who opted in January to return for their senior
seasons instead of entering the NFL draft, while Quinn, a junior, is
widely considered to be a high first-round pick.
The NCAA first
visited the campus in July focused on whether Austin and Little received
improper benefits from agents. That probe has since expanded into
potential academic misconduct involving a tutor.
"As I've said,
there is no single game more important than the character and integrity
of this university," Davis said in the release. "We are disappointed the
players' choices have denied them the opportunity to compete alongside
their teammates and represent the University of North Carolina."
Heather Dinich covers the ACC for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
