North Carolina announced the school received a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA accusing its football program of rules violations.  The NCAA investigation started last summer with news of players possibly receiving impermissible benefits. Further details emerged about players receiving improper support from a tutor to complete their coursework.  Former assistant coach John Blake was cited for unethical conduct for providing false and misleading information to the NCAA enforcement staff and to the institution and for failure to cooperate with the investigation.  In addition, he marketed athletic abilities of athletes to agent Gary Wichard and received outside income that he did not report to the institution  Former student Jennifer Wiley was accused of unethical conduct for refusing to provide information to the NCAA enforcement staff and to the institution. She also allegedly provided extra benefits to athletes in the form of travel and parking expenses, and tutoring.  Several players also received preferential treatment and accepted impermissible benefits.  The school has 90 days to respond to the charges and is scheduled to appear before the Committee on Infraction on Oct. 28.  "I deeply regret that Carolina is in this position," chancellor Holden Thorp said in a statement. "We made mistakes, and we have to face that. When the investigation started a year ago, we pledged to cooperate fully with the NCAA, to go where the facts took us, and to face the issues head on. Our level of cooperation is evident in the allegations, some of which arise from facts that we self-reported to the NCAA. We will emerge with a stronger athletics program, and we will restore confidence in Carolina football."  As a result of the investigation, the school was forced to hold out 13 players in last year's season opener against LSU. Blake resigned after the game after his ties to Wichard, who died in March, were made public.  Among the suspended players were Marvin Austin, Greg Little and Robert Quinn, who were eventually ruled ineligible in October after being found guilty of accepting gifts. All three were selected in the NFL draft in April.  "I feel terrible that these allegations occurred under my watch," coach Butch Davis said in a statement. "I especially regret that the university has had to endure this scrutiny because of the football program. The responsibility for correcting any problems that put us in this position is mine, and I take that responsibility very seriously."  MORE: Follow Erick Smith on Twitter  See photos of: NCAA, North Carolina Tar Heels  To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor  . For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to  . Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to
North Carolina accused of violations in Notice of Allegations from NCAA - Campus Rivalry: College Football & Basketball News, Recruiting, Game Picks, and More - USATODAY.com