CHRIS SEWARD - cseward@newsobserver.com
UNC football coach Butch Davis faces the media at the conclusion of the 8th Annual Bill Dooley Triangle/East Chapter Pigskin Review, a lunch featuring area college football coaches at Washington Duke Inn in Durham N.C. on July 22, 2010. Many of the questions were about the NCAA investigation of some players in the UNC football program.
DURHAM -- North Carolina football coach Butch Davis broke his public silence on the NCAA investigation into his program on Thursday, telling a banquet audience the NCAA has said it will move quickly in the probe that brought investigators to campus last week.
Despite a few verbal hiccups - Davis said his players were excited for the start of "spring" practice - his message came across clear in his first comments to the media since UNC acknowledged on July 15 that it was being investigated by the NCAA.
"We take a great deal of pride in doing things ethically and honestly," Davis said Thursday at the Triangle Pigskin Preview, which drew about 350 people to the Washington Duke Inn. "Our players were unbelievably cooperative [with the NCAA] and so, we'll get through this as quickly as possible."
In prepared remarks in front of the banquet crowd, Davis said the NCAA had assured UNC it would "expediate" its investigation.
According to public records obtained by The News & Observer, the NCAA conducted interviews in Chapel Hill on July 12 and July 13.
Greg Little Sr. said Tuesday that his son, Tar Heels senior receiver Greg Little, was interviewed by the NCAA about improper contact with an agent. The News & Observer has confirmed that senior defensive tackle Marvin Austin also was interviewed.
Davis declined to provide details about the number of players involved but referred to the investigation as an "incident" and referenced other programs that have been questioned by the NCAA this month.
"One of the things you can see is that there are a lot of other institutions around the country that are going through this currently," Davis said. "There probably will be some more in the very near future."
NCAA investigators have talked to Alabama defensive tackle Marcell Dareus and South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders, who is from Durham. (Saunders' father, Barry Saunders, is a metro columnist for The News & Observer.)
Alabama coach Nick Saban offered pointed criticism of agents this week at the Southeastern Conference's preseason media gathering, comparing them to pimps.
Davis showed more restraint in his assessment of agents and their role in the UNC probe. Davis, who coached in the NFL before coming to UNC in November 2006, said the NCAA rule that allows underclassmen to be in contact with agents after their junior season has "made everybody in America's job significantly tougher."
Davis offered expanded remarks, almost nine minutes worth with reporters after the banquet, on the overall quality of the players in the program and his role in the investigation.
"It's no different than being a parent," Davis said. "You can teach your children, and you can talk to them. You hope that lessons that aren't learned, you continue to teach those lessons. We've got good kids at North Carolina. We're going to continue to work hard to do everything right."
The banquet wasn't without its lighter moments for Davis. After first-year East Carolina coach Ruffin McNeill compared his move from Texas Tech to Greenville as a "whirlwind," Davis joked: "You think Ruffin would like to trade whirlwinds?"
Davis is scheduled to meet with the media again on Monday at the ACC Football Kickoff in Greensboro. The Tar Heels open practice on Aug. 6.
