The next steps in North Carolina’s NCAA case

The University of North Carolina received its amended Notice of Allegations from the NCAA Monday morning and quickly released it to the public a few hours later. This latest NOA replaces the original one the University received last May.

What comes next? Here is are some answers to that question.

Q: So now what?

A: While the original notice of allegations was vague and potentially far-reaching, this latest document appears to have simplified the scope. Women’s basketball is the only team specifically mentioned, and there are still just three individuals specifically accused of misconduct: former women’s basketball academic counselor Jan Boxill, former AFAM department chair Julius Nyang’oro and former AFAM administrative assistant Debby Crowder.

UNC and Boxill, Nyang’oro and Crowder – all the named parties – will have 90 days to send the NCAA a response to the NOA. Taking the maximum amount of time would have the University responding on July 24, a Sunday. UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham was hesitant to speculate Monday whether the university would need the full 90 days to respond. Considering that the three individuals are also allotted that time to respond, though, Cunningham said that 90 days is a “good timeframe to use.”

Q: And then?

A: Then the NCAA has 60 days to respond to UNC’s response. Taking the maximum amount of time for this step would put the date at Sept. 22.

Q: When does anything actionable happen?

Two answers here. UNC will have its “day in court,” when it appears before the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions (COI). The COI plays judge and jury and will decide any penalties and/or sanctions. This would occur sometime in the fall or winter.

Cunningham said Monday that if UNC decides to self-impose any penalties, that would happen before the COI hearing.

Q: Okay, so when would the potential penalties from the COI be announced?

A: Again, more waiting, so don’t get too excited. The general guideline is to expect the COI to take 8-12 weeks to release its final decision, which includes any penalties and sanctions. But the COI could take longer than that.

Take the UNC football investigation as an example. UNC went before the COI on Oct. 28, 2011, and the final ruling didn’t come until March, 12, 2012. That’s four months and 13 days (136 days total).

And there is an appeals process that could trigger after the COI findings are released.

Q: So this could easily stretch into 2017?

A: Yes, yes it could. Settle in for more hurry up and waiting.

This story was originally published April 25, 2016 at 5:15 PM with the headline "The next steps in North Carolina’s NCAA case."