University of North Carolina Athletics
Transcript Of Comments To UNC Board Of Trustees
November 18, 2010 | Football
Nov. 18, 2010
Quotes: Chancellor Holden Thorp | Athletic Director Dick Baddour | Head Football Coach Butch Davis
University of North Carolina Chancellor Holden Thorp, Athletic Director Dick Baddour and Head Football Coach Butch Davis updated the University's Board of Trustees Nov. 18 as the fact-finding portion of the investigation into the football program winds down. Below are transcripts of their remarks to the Board.
Chancellor Holden Thorp
I'm happy to be here to update you on the situation involving the NCAA investigation of the football program and I would like to thank all of you on the board for your patience as we have worked through this. This has been a trying time for the University. It's not something that any of us wanted to go through and not something that any of us are excited about happening here. But the support that your board has provided to Mr. Baddour and Coach Davis and myself has been incredibly important because the way we have chosen to address this - working to get all of the facts in the investigation in cooperation with the NCAA and making sure that all of the students who affected by this got the same due process that would be due to any student at the University or any student-athlete on an NCAA team. None of those things made this easier or faster but we think those were the right things to have done and we certainly feel like we made the right choice on those fronts now, and your support enabled us to do this right and get all of the facts we needed in order to make the right judgments.
Mr. Baddour and Coach Davis and I have been meeting weekly to talk about how to address the situation we have and make changes in the football program that will ensure that these things won't happen again, and we're all on the same page. All three of us felt that we should all be here today. Coach Davis wanted to be with us today to update you, and Mr. Baddour and I thought that was a really good idea. So we're here as a team to tell you how we're dealing with this.
The fact-finding portion of the investigation is nearly concluded, just a few things are being tied up by the NCAA. The University feels at this point that we've done nearly everything that we need to do and a lot of the most important interviews have taken place so that's why this meeting is coming along at a good time for us to update you and we feel that we have essentially all the information that we need in hand to give you an update and take your questions.
I don't feel good that we're in this situation, but I feel good about the way that we've handled it and I feel good about where we're headed. I particularly feel proud of the fact that we faced this head on, we disclosed that we had issues that we needed to work on and we erred on the side of caution with student-athletes. We addressed this with a 12-member review committee, which included members of the faculty and that review committee has spent a lot of time on this problem since August.
Our goals were to cooperate fully with the NCAA - and I just feel like we've done as good a job as any school could do with that - and to understand how this happened and how we can minimize the chance of it happening again.
Our review committee, in partnership with the NCAA, has conducted more than 60 interviews of students on the football team, athletic department staff, academic support staff and others. The NCAA has been to campus seven times. The secretary of state's office has been here twice as part of its investigation into agents. We are not aware of an upcoming visit by the NCAA, so we think that they may have made their last visit.
We have made some difficult decisions - sitting out some student-athletes for games. I think that our instincts and the work that we did to get the facts have all been shown to have been on target. A number of the students who had academic issues were referred to the campus honor court and they were treated as any other student at the honor court. As I said to you last time we discussed this, the 130 years of student judicial processes on our campus were respected by the work we've done on this.
Coach Davis has faced a lot of scrutiny on this. He's in a high profile line of work and it's been trying for him, I'm sure, as it has been for all of us to work on a crisis with this much public interest. We have interviewed Coach Davis, and as I said, he and Mr. Baddour and I meet once a week to talk about this, the NCAA has interviewed Coach Davis and all of the assistants who are working in the program have been interviewed by the NCAA. The secretary of state's office has also interviewed Coach Davis and, of course, the media has been interested in this and they have asked him a lot of questions as well.
Through all of that work over four months, we have found no information that Coach Davis was involved in any of the problems that have surfaced and I know that he feels a great responsibility for the situation because it happened on his watch, just as Mr. Baddour and I feel a great responsibility to address the problems. But we have found no reason to make any more changes in the football program other than the ones that we have already made in terms of changing assistant coaches and the student-athletes that we have had to process. So we're very confident moving together - the three of us and the folks who are supporting us - to address the problems that we have.
And we are determined to do what it takes to have a program that we can all be proud of. That's been the focus of the meetings that we've had.
I'd just like to acknowledge the people that have worked on this. As I have said many times before and as James Moeser said last night, I can't imagine doing this with an athletic director other than Dick Baddour. His experience in compliance and his experience at the University and his commitment to the academic integrity of this institution and its ideals have been indispensible. I'm so grateful that Dickie and I were here to work on this together.
The faculty - Jack Evans, who was a former faculty athletics representative and one of the foremost faculty leaders in intercollegiate athletics nationally; Lissa Broome from the law school who is our current faculty athletics representative have been invaluable to us; and the three faculty committees - the Faculty Athletics Committee, the Faculty Executive Committee and the Chancellor's Advisory Committee have all been updated frequently and have been helpful and supportive to us.
The Office of University Counsel - Leslie Strohm, Joanna Carey Cleveland and Steve Keadey have all been incredibly supportive of the work that we've done. Winston Crisp, who bring the student affairs prospective. Again, I'm very grateful that Winston was the student affairs person while we were doing this because he came up through the Dean of Students and judicial processes and he has been a huge help to us.
And then, finally, again, I'd like to credit Coach Davis for being so open and receptive to the way that we wanted to handle this, for understanding the ideals of the University of North Carolina and our objectives in athletics, and for keeping our team focused and performing on the field.
And, of course, finally I'd like to thank the students on the football team who have pulled together through these difficult circumstances and performed extremely well on the football field and clearly bonded together through everything that we've been through.
Athletic Director Dick Baddour
As you know for almost five months we've been dealing with some difficult issues surrounding Carolina football. As Holden said, in general the fact-finding as far as it involves this investigation is near completion. We have a few remaining matters to handle and we will do so very soon. The NCAA, time and again, has acknowledged our good faith effort, our cooperation in the thoroughness of the review. We get those reports directly from them. People in our organization also get it from NCAA staff members who are not working directly on these issues.
Now it is time to wrap up the investigative phase and turn our attention to the future. I too want to make a comment about our football team because they have been remarkable in their response. They have handled every kind of adversity and remained focused and competed at the highest level. I am proud of this team. I'm especially proud of the seniors and the leaders of this team. I want to tell you that of the 17 seniors on the team, 13 of them will graduate next month, and the remaining four are on track to graduate in the spring. That brings the total number of seniors involved under coach Davis to 59, and 49 of those seniors will graduate for 83 percent.
When we started this investigation, we identified two principles of operation. One was the integrity of the institution would be paramount and that would guide us in the decisions that we make. That has been accomplished. The second principle of operation that we established is that we would be as fair as possible to all the individuals involved. I feel confident in telling you that that has been accomplished. Two other principles also have often been mentioned. One is that the review would be thorough, complete and we would go where the facts would take us. That has been accomplished. Lastly, as an institution, the athletic department and the football program will be better as a result of these matters. Our practices, procedures would evaluated and enhanced. I want to talk to you some about those.
As athletic director, I accept responsibility for what has happened. As athletic director, I also accept responsibility for doing everything in our power to see that this never happens again. I want to describe for you some of the efforts that we have underway or will have underway.
We have at the Carolina Leadership Academy, one of the foremost programs in the country. Over 11 institutions in the country have adopted the same model that we have. We started this past summer, independent of this investigation, a review of that program because it was time to do that. I will challenge the group, just looking at our Leadership Academy, how that Academy might better serve the student-athletes with a focus on ethical behavior and doing things the Carolina way.
Second, our hiring and orientation practices are being, and will continue to be, reviewed. Potential and current employees will be required to disclose relationships and associations with agents. That will happen during the hiring process as well as on an annual basis. New employees will be required to attend orientation sessions where expectations and rules education will be conducted. Our institutional core values and expectations will be explained in detail.
Number three, with regards to our compliance program. Last May, through our budget process, our compliance department asked for an additional employee. That employee will be hired this January and will assume some of the responsibilities that our now assistant A.D. has responsibility for to free her up to allow her to provide more attention to rules prevention, to rules education as well as to a focus on agent issues as well as extra benefit issues.
Lastly, the Academic Support Program. That review is underway through the leadership of Dean Bobbi Owen and John Blanchard. It involves faculty and administrators from the College of Arts & Sciences and other parts of the campus. It will look at the structure of the Academic Support Program along with a focus on tutoring, mentoring practices and policies.
Lastly, I want to express appreciate to the faculty of the University of North Carolina. I hear your concerns and we will be responsive. I value the trust that you place in us and I will work hard to return that trust.
Coach Davis you have handled the most difficult times in a dignified and professional manner. I believe you were the right fit when we hired you and I continue to believe that. In fact, I believe that even more strongly.
Holden, I truly don't know how you have managed all this. Your leadership has been strong and determined. You have given us hope in the most difficult times as well as direction and focus. You have looked at this from 30,000 feet and you have been in the weeds with us as well. We are honored to have your encouragement and support.
Head Coach Butch Davis
Chancellor and Mr. Baddour, I want to thank you for allowing me the opportunity to address the board. As Chancellor Thorp had said earlier, we have been meeting on a regular basis over the last couple of weeks, discussing the NCAA review and the things that have gone on.
I want to make it perfectly clear to everyone that I am embarrassed and saddened and disappointed about the negative light that the things in the football program have shed on the University of North Carolina. As the head football coach, I take complete and full responsibility for everything that happens in the football program. It is certainly nothing that we are proud of. We are embarrassed by it. I am going to do everything as the head football coach to ensure that this doesn't happen again.
I want to pay a particular compliment to both of these gentlemen - to Holden and to Dickie. I can tell you that having been through some extraordinarily trying times in my personal life and in my career, I've never seen two individuals work harder with more character, with more integrity, more perseverance to protect the institution of North Carolina. But more importantly, the one thing that came out of everything that's transpired the last four months was a complete desire to get to the truth. To make sure that everything that could come out of this review by the NCAA came out. I can tell you that their leadership was invaluable. It was a source of strength for myself in watching how hard they had worked and the team they had put together.
Four years ago when Tammy and I chose to come to the University of North Carolina, we were honored. Our appreciation for this University has done nothing but strengthen as we've become part of this family, part of the community of Chapel Hill, part of the family of the University of North Carolina. We don't take that responsibility lightly. It's something that we're proud to be a part of this University.
I don't know how many of you realize and know a little bit about my background. I came into the coaching profession by way of education. I grew up in a home where both of my parents were educators. My father was an administrator and a teacher. My sister is a teacher. My grandmother taught school for 50 years. In my 37 years as a teacher, myself as a biology and anatomy physiology teacher, it's never been lip service to faculty members to administrators to families or parents about the importance of education. I use my own personal experience when I talk to athletes and tell them about the things that transpired in my life, going off to college with a chance to play college football and having all my dreams crushed because of knee operations at the University of Arkansas. And realizing how important a college education was and thankful to the head coach, Frank Broyles, for letting me stay in school to finish my degree. It helped shape an awful lot of the philosophies I have had in dealing with student-athletes at Oklahoma State, the University of Miami and the University of North Carolina. I can tell you that in every single individual time when I have spoken with students and when I have spoken with their parents, the No. 1 thing I have impressed upon them is that even though the NFL is a glorious dream, and it's the thing that has inspired an awful lot of players, the most important single thing you can do is get a college education. Part of the intrigue when Tammy and I accepted this job was to be at an institution that valued academics, and the values and the degree in and of itself speaks volumes to the students who are fortunate enough to come to Carolina. I take a great deal of pride in the graduation rate. That's part of the keys to these guy's futures and I don't take that lightly. Because of the embarrassment it has put on the academic aspect of the football program and the University, I am very embarrassed about that. That is something I hold in deep regard.
I can tell you that I've been through two major significant challenges in my coaching career prior to this particular one. In 1989, I accepted an opportunity to go with Jimmy Johnson to the (Dallas Cowboys). We went 1-15 having to replace Tom Landry, the legendary only coach in the history of the Dallas Cowboys. I can't tell you what those challenges were just from an X's and O's standpoint. That's just part of my job. It's not completely. It's not just drawing up plays to help us win on Saturday. I learned an awful lot about going through that 1-15 season about the values and the trust and the core beliefs of the men that helped turn that around and eventually build a program that won three Super Bowls.
In 1995, I went to the University of Miami as the head football coach and a program that was scandal-ridden. Sports Illustrated had put it on the cover of the magazine that the University of Miami should drop its football program. As I took that job and as I went to work at the University of Miami, one of the things I learned from that, because of the off the field incidents and the things that had been a part of damaging the reputation at the University of Miami, was that it was not just X's and O's. It's about recruiting kids with character, kids with integrity, graduating kids. It's changing the culture within an institution and how people perceive that institution from an outsider's perspective.
Having gone through these last four months with Holden and Dickie and everybody else, I know how much everybody loves Carolina. And I know how much this has hurt. But I will tell you as the head football coach, I will do absolutely everything I can in my power to make sure these things don't happen again. I take a great deal of pride and understanding of the commitment and the passion of the people who support and love this University.
It's been difficult and it's been a challenge and it's been trying times. But here's what I learned through those two previous experiences and this, there are things that when we look back over our policies and procedures as the football coach over the last four years, there's some things we can do a lot better. We can be more involved with our student-athletes. We can be a lot more informative and educate those kids and their parents about the broad scope of the things that transpired over the last four months to put us in this situation. We've reached out to other institutions around the country to ask them, `what are you doing,' `what are you doing in your program that helps ensure that some of things that happened to us are not happening.' We've reached out to consultant groups that are hired by institutions to try to help them educate their players, their parents and ourselves. Those are the things we are going to continue to do. We talk about the academic credibility of the institution. There are things we can do better. It's going to take a cooperative effort. But it's going to start with the coaching staff, with myself and our coaches, making sure that we are as diligent as possible making sure our student-athletes are informed and that they know the rules and regulations.
I want to say in closing as tough as this has been, this institution stands for a great deal and the people that love Carolina, that love Carolina blue and love this University, I am forever grateful that they have given me the opportunity to be the head football coach. I appreciate Holden and Dickie's support. I appreciate the Board of Trustees and I know how disappointed that you are. But I can tell you that as long as I'm the head football coach, nothing will mean more to me and to our staff and to our players than the character and integrity of the University. At our first press conference, I made a statement that night that there is no one single player and there is no one single game and there is no one single season worth the character and integrity of this institution and this University. That's my commitment and my pledge to you as we move forward into the future of this program.
Chancellor Holden Thorp
I hope you can see how diligently and sincere the three of us have worked on this. This is a challenge and a difficult thing that the University has gone through, but the difficult decisions that we had to make are ones that everybody agreed were in the best interest of the University. As a leader, what you look for is when you have a group of people responsible for doing difficult things, if everybody feels like they had a chance to speak their mind (and) if everybody agrees at the end to do what's best for the University. That's what makes me feel good about Butch Davis being our football coach, about Dick Baddour being our athletic director and about the football program at the University of North Carolina.
