North Carolina has avoided major penalties after an NCAA infractions committee panel "could not conclude" there were academic violations in the multi-year case focused on irregular courses.
The NCAA released its report Friday morning. The panel said it found only two violations out of five charges the school originally faced: a failure-to-cooperate charge against two people tied to the problem courses in the formerly named African and Afro-American Studies department.
It's a long-awaited step for both the school and NCAA. Investigators first arrived at UNC more than seven years ago in a football probe that ultimately spawned this case focused on irregular courses featuring significant athlete enrollments.
The announcement comes roughly eight weeks after UNC appeared before the panel for a two-day hearing in Nashville, Tennessee.