East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, October 14, 2017, WEEKEND EDITION, Image 16

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East Oregonian : E.O., October 14, 2017, WEEKEND EDITION, Page Page 4B, Image 16

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Newspaper Page TextPage 4B SPORTS East Oregonian Saturday, October 14, 2017 College Athletics UNC set to move past academic probe, not celebrating ruling By AARON BEARD Associated Press North Carolina can move forward, closing one of the most embarrassing chapters in the school’s history now that the long-running NCAA academic case has ended with UNC facing no penalty. Still, even with what had to be the best possible outcome — a weight being lifted that has loomed over the Chapel Hill campus for years — school ofﬁ cials greeted the news more with cautious relief than exuber- ance. “This isn’t a time of cele- bration,” chancellor Carol Folt said Friday in a confer- ence call with reporters. The NCAA said an infractions committee panel determined it “could not conclude” there were academic violations by the school in the scandal focused on irregular courses featuring signiﬁ cant athlete enrollments. The school had faced ﬁ ve serious charges — including lack of institutional control — and the possibility of major sanctions such as postseason bans or vacated wins and championships. Yet the case full of starts, stops and twice-rewritten charges reached a best-case- scenario conclusion with the panel’s Friday report. “I think it’s important to understand the panel was in no way supporting what happened,” said Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey, the panel’s chief hearing ofﬁ cer. “What happened was troubling. And I think that’s been acknowledged by many different parties. But the panel applied the membership’s bylaws to the fact. “Albeit at times posi- tions shifted and we were skeptical of positions taken, the panel couldn’t conclude violations. That’s reality.” Ultimately, the panel said it found only two violations: a failure-to-cooperate charge against two people tied to the problem courses in the formerly named African and Afro-American Studies (AFAM) department. Former AFAM chairman Julius Nyang’oro faces a ﬁ ve-year show-cause penalty through 2022 in what amounts to the sole penalty imposed in the case. Nyang’oro had refused to interview with NCAA investigators after the case was reopened in 2014. The other person, retired AFAM ofﬁ ce administrator Deborah Crowder, initially refused interviews but recon- sidered and interviewed with NCAA investigators in May as well as attended the school’s hearing with the panel in August. Crowder — who had enrolled students, distributed assignments and graded many of the papers in the courses — was not punished, but the NCAA said it is making note of her initial lack of cooperation. Elliot Abrams, Crowder’s attorney, said in a statement the ruling afﬁ rms her account that she treated all students equally. Bill Thomas, Nyang’oro’s attorney, declined to comment to The Associated Press. North Carolina also faced an improper-beneﬁ ts charge tied to athlete access to the problem courses, while former professor and academic counselor for women’s basketball Jan Boxill was charged with providing improper help on assignments. “Sometimes the behavior that you’re not proud of just doesn’t quite ﬁ t into a bylaw or a rule or something, and that’s what we’ve been talking about for ﬁ ve years,” UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham said. “We’re not proud of the behavior but we didn’t think it violated the bylaw, and today the Committee on Infractions revealed to us that they came to that same conclusion.” Michael L. Buckner, a Florida attorney who has worked on compliance cases, called it “deﬁ nitely a best-case scenario” for UNC. “The NCAA is not an academic accreditation agency,” Buckner said. “So I appreciate the fact that the committee did not act like a pseudo-accreditation agency in its decision, because they easily could have and tried to go underneath and behind the university’s own inter- pretation of its courses. “But that’s the role of ... the regional accreditation agency that UNC belongs to, not the NCAA.” It’s a long-awaited step for both the school and NCAA. Investigators ﬁ rst arrived at UNC more than seven years ago in a football probe that ultimately spawned into this case. Major penalties could have led UNC to appeal or even pursue legal action, potentially stretching a delay-ﬁ lled case for several years more. Instead, the case reached resolution roughly eight weeks after UNC appeared before the infractions panel in Nashville, Tennessee, for a two-day hearing that included Folt, Cunningham, men’s basketball coach Roy Williams, football coach Larry Fedora and women’s basketball coach Sylvia Hatchell. No coaches were charged with wrongdoing. The focus was indepen- dent study-style AFAM courses that were misiden- tiﬁ ed as lecture classes but didn’t meet. They required a research paper or two for typically high grades. In a 2014 investigation, former U.S. Justice Depart- ment ofﬁ cial Kenneth Wainstein estimated more than 3,100 students were affected between 1993 and 2011, with athletes across numerous sports making up roughly half the enrollments. On a conference call, Sankey said it was “more likely than not” that athletes received fraudulent credit and that counselors used courses to help maintain eligibility, but the organi- zation’s bylaws leave it to the schools themselves to determine academic fraud. He said the panel could not use “those strong possibili- ties” to determine whether violations occurred as UNC maintained the courses were legitimate — though easy — and beneﬁ tted non-athlete students, too. After sanctioning the football program in March 2012 in the original case, the NCAA reopened an inves- tigation in summer 2014, ﬁ led charges in May 2015, revised them in April 2016 and again in December. UNC had challenged the NCAA’s jurisdiction, saying its accreditation agency — which sanctioned the school with a year of probation — was the proper authority and that the NCAA was overreaching in what should be an academic matter . UNC has argued non-ath- letes had access to the courses and athletes didn’t receive special treatment. It also challenged Wainstein’s estimate of athlete enroll- ments, saying Wainstein counted athletes who were no longer team members and putting the ﬁ gure at less than 30 percent. Sankey said the school successfully challenged elements of the Wainstein report, noting there were “factual inaccuracies” that led the panel to discount some of Wainstein’s ﬁ ndings. Sankey also said the panel would report its ﬁ ndings to the accreditation agency “so that it is aware of the NCAA’s ﬁ nal deci- sion and North Carolina’s updated positions.” Auto Racing Ford teams head to Talladega aiming for restrictor plate race sweeep By JENNA FRYER Associated Press TALLADEGA, Ala. — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was all over the scoreboard at Char- lotte Motor Speedway. His Roush-Fenway Racing team worked all day to salvage a strong ﬁ nish in the opening race of the second round of NASCAR’s playoffs, and a speeding penalty was threat- ening to ruin the chance. Stenhouse had one restart to save his day Sunday, and he picked off about six drivers to squeak out a 13th-place ﬁ nish. His reward? Well, Stenhouse is still last in the playoff standings. But the race this weekend is at Talla- dega Superspeedway and Stenhouse is probably the only driver looking forward to Sunday’s critical race. Stenhouse scored his ﬁ rst career Cup victory at Talla- dega in May, and followed it with another win in July at Daytona. He’s won the last two restrictor-plate races of the season, and ﬁ gures his best shot at making it into the third round of the playoffs is by making it 3 for 3 to land an automatic berth. “I know we’re going to have a fast car. I’m not really worried about the speed in our car,” said Stenhouse, who is in the playoffs for the ﬁ rst time. “The biggest thing for me is you’ve got to have these things play out exactly right. I feel like the last two played out really well for us. I feel like we’re capable of doing it, but I’m deﬁ nitely just not counting on it.” Nope, Stenhouse has to have a backup strategy because there are so many variables in a plate race. It takes luck, skill, precision and being in the right place at the right time. Talladega for the ﬁ rst three years of this playoff format was an elimination race, but it was moved this season to the middle of the second round. It’s placement in the playoffs takes the pressure off of Stenhouse to win or else. If he can’t win the race, AP Photo/Ron Sanders, File In this May 7, 2017, ﬁ le photo, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (17) celebrates at the start ﬁ nish line after winning a Monster Cup series race at Talladega Superspeedway. he’ll take what he can get in stage points. Although he’s last right now in the 12-driver ﬁ eld, Stenhouse is just 10 points behind Jamie McMurray at the cutoff line. “If I can win two stages and get 20 points, I could vault ourselves ahead of the cutoff line,” Stenhouse said. “I think you’re going to see at least 10 of us racing really hard for that.” And for the ﬁ rst time in these playoffs, the Ford drivers might have a ﬁ ghting chance. Toyota drivers Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch have combined to win the ﬁ rst four races of the playoffs, and Truex’s win at Charlotte moved him into the third round of the playoffs. That victory was a relief for Truex, who was eliminated from the playoffs a year ago at Talladega after an engine failure. An accident during the spring race here led to a 35th-place ﬁ nish. “There are so many unknowns at Talladega, and you can run up front all day long and ﬁ nish 25th,” said Truex. “You can run up front and run 20 laps and get destroyed. You just never know. There is so much out of your control. To go there and not have to worry about all those things is deﬁ nitely a good feeling.” In Friday’s ﬁ rst practice, Ford drivers took the ﬁ rst nine spots on the speed chart; in the fastest 10-lap averages, ﬁ ve Ford drivers led the charge. In the second practice, the Chevrolets picked up some speed and Kasey Kahne and Dale Earn- hardt Jr. went 1-2 to lead their Hendrick Motorsports Chevys to the top of the board. But, considering Kurt Busch won the Daytona 500 in a Ford, the Doug Yates-powered blue ovals will be trying to give the manufacturer and its engine builder a season sweep. “We work hard at making sure we work with other Ford drivers,” Stenhouse said. “I think Doug’s engine package ﬁ ts these race track really well. We work hard on our cars. I think a lot of the crew chiefs on the Ford cars really have always taken a liking to speedways and take pride in it and really pay attention to all the small details, “And then we always meet on the weekend. All the Ford drivers get together and ﬁ gure out a game plan of what we’re going to do and how we’re going to work together and make sure that one of us succeed.” ———— NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series Alabama 500 at Talladega Race Sunday, 11 a.m. (TV: NBC) Playoff Standings Through Oct. 5 Driver Points behind 1. Martin Truex Jr.* — 2. Kyle Larson -34 3. Kevin Harvick -37 4. Chase Elliott -47 5. Denny Hamlin -50 6. Kyle Busch -51 7. Jimmie Johnson -55 8. Jamie McMurray -62 9. Matt Kenseth -63 10. Brad Keselowski -64 11. Ryan Blaney -67 12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -72 *-clinched spot to next round EASTERN OREGON marketplace Place classified ads online at www.eastoregonmarketplace.com or call 1-800-962-2819 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. After hours, leave a voicemail and we’ll confirm your ad the next business day. Email us at classifieds@ east oregonian.com or fax: 541-278-2680 East Oregonian Deadline is 3 p.m. the day before publication 211 S.E. Byers Ave. 333 E. Main St. We accept: Pendleton, OR 97801 Hermiston, OR 97838 See www.eastoregonmarketplace.com for classified ads from all over Eastern Oregon EAST OREGONIAN • HERMISTON HERALD • BLUE MOUNTAIN EAGLE • WALLOWA COUNTY CHIEFTAIN 110 Announcements 181 Lost & Found 360 Garage Sales 360 Garage Sales 501 Open Houses 504 Homes for Sales JUSTIN AND BURKS Moving and Estate Sale Cleaning out sale! Lots of Christmas, camping, fishing, golf clubs, gardening, clothing, athletic wear.... lots of misc. 1610 SW 18th Pendleton. Friday & Saturday 8am-1pm Open House Oct.14 1-4pm 642 NW 7th Fully remodeled 3 bed 2 bath 1800 sq ft. $179,000 or Call Heidi at (541)206-9588 For private showing Call the “Weekend & After Hours Realtor” to view homes at a con- venient time for you. Available on Short Notice, Special Financ- ing Program Information! Call Matt Vogler, 541.377.9470 John J. Howard & Assoc. (541) 377-9470 Living estate sale. Our client has sold their Mill Creek cabin of 45 years. Rustic, interesting collection. 166 Good Things to Davis Orchards Fruit Stand 9am-5pm Closed Saturday Apples: Gala, Golden & Red Delicious, Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Fuji; Italian Prunes 53285 Appleton Road Milton Freewater, Oregon 541-938-7093 Tri Color Corgi missing since 10/6 from my fenced yard in the Overlook development in Pendleton. We miss her dear- ly! (541)969-9743 204 Automobiles 2014 GMC Terrain FWD 4cyl, Loaded SLT, Leather, Bluetooth, Sunroof, more. 29,400K Ex- cellent Condition, $18,950. NO Dealers! Call 541-962-5467 CALL 1-800-962-2819 50’s naugahyde sofa and chair- excellent condition, Coca-Cola sign and thermometer, huge collection of crumbers, beer signs and mugs, rusty tools and outdoor decor, bird houses and feeders, great old lanterns, nu- merous brass blow-torches, 20’s icebox, huge whale bone, record albums, black iron lamp post, snow plow for Honda 4-Wheeler This sale is being held in our back barn. BUY IT! SELL IT! FIND IT! 2011 Ford E-350 Van Good condition $6900/ OBO 541-276-2211 ext. 215 DOWNUNDER???????!!?? Sign up for your Tour to Aus- tralia in April 2018. This will be your trip of a lifetime. The tour is made to fit the group! Referenc- es available! Call Kerry 541-377- 6855 or email your questions to kjcbaird@gmail.com Turn Here Realty 541-377-6855 If you like rust, you will love this sale! Eastern Oregon Events CALL 1-800-962-2819 to advertise here! See local events at: easternoregonevents.com 504 Homes for Sales 85137 Tum A Lum Road Milton-Freewater Saturday 9am-3pm Sunday 10am-3pm WHATEVER YOU ARE looking for, don’t buy until you’ve checked the Classifieds! Credit/debit cards and cash. No checks please. No early sales. BUYER meets seller every day of the week in the classified columns of this newspaper. Attention Investors! Reduced Price, Modern Duplex built in 2012, Stucco Exterior with great city views. 3 bedroom and 2 bedroom units.Now $179,900. Call Matt Vogler, 541.377.9470. John J. Howard & Assoc. (541) 377-9470 Classified Ads work hard for you! $129,900- East end CONDO IN CLIFFDWELLERS. 3 bed- rooms, 1.5 baths. Deck over- looking river. Condo complex includes swimming pool. Vicki 541-969-9441cell. #17141137 Coldwell Banker Whitney 541-276-0021 NEW LISTING 5.2 acres of mountain property 3 b/r 2 bath manufactured home with de- tached garage and large shop. Year round living. Secluded. $212,900 Call Cathy for more info (541) 215-0103. Garton & Associates (541) 276-0931 Looking for a new place to live? The classified ads offer a complete section of homes, apartments, and mobile homes to fit your needs. Check daily for new listings!