The University of North Carolina announced Thursday the promotion of Amy Herman to oversee the athletic department's compliance program and is in the process of adding another position in the department, athletic director Dick Baddour said.

Herman, who has worked at UNC for 11 years and has been assistant athletic director for compliance, will be promoted to associate director of athletics for compliance, effective Feb. 1.

Baddour cited Herman's exemplary work during the ongoing NCAA investigation into the football program, which began in July, as a reason for the promotion.

"We clearly needed her expertise during this investigation, and she did outstanding work for us," Baddour said.

The promotion for Herman comes as the school awaits word of whether it will be sanctioned by the NCAA for numerous violations that occurred in the football program.

Fourteen players missed at least one game, and seven missed the entire 2010 season in connection with probes into acceptance of impermissible benefits and academic misconduct.

The promotion comes with a new role for Herman but not a pay raise, Baddour said. Previously, Herman's duties included administrative responsibilities for the grant-in-aid program and compliance issues.

The new hire, which Baddour expects to have completed within the next month, will concentrate on the grant-in-aid, or scholarship, portion of compliance.

Herman will be responsible for making sure the athletic department is in compliance with NCAA rules and regulations. She will focus on prevention and education programs for student-athletes and coaches for all sports, Baddour said.

The new position in the compliance department was created during the budget process last May, according to Baddour, before the NCAA investigation started. Herman will make the hire, Baddour said, and continue to report to senior associate AD Larry Gallo.

Baddour praised Herman as "extremely knowledgeable" and said she was part of the solution during the NCAA investigation, not a reason for the problems, which included a former academic tutor providing impermissible help on written assignments.

"You can't look at compliance as under any one person's watch," Baddour said. "If you want to put it on somebody's watch, it's on my watch.

"The responsibility for the violations that occurred rest with a lot of people, foremost with those who committed them."

Baddour did not give a timetable for when the NCAA would close the investigation.

jp.giglio@newsobserver.com or 919-829-8938