From multiple NCAA investigations to last year’s Wainstein Report, UNC athletics has been under fire for years, charged with failing to take academics seriously. The scandal has many facets – including the so-called “paper” classes that professors never graded; the tutors who reportedly suggested grades to keep athletes eligible; and Mary Willingham’s charge that many UNC athletes couldn’t read beyond an eighth-grade level. Even now, faculty members are still raising concerns about “special admits,” or the practice (common to many universities) of admitting student-athletes whose academic records otherwise wouldn’t qualify them for Carolina.

But of course the juiciest bits of the scandal give us only one side of a complex, nuanced story. What actually is the life of a UNC student-athlete? What are the challenges, the advantages, the constraints? What resources are available to help? Does UNC really care about academics in athletics? At the end of the day, do student-athletes still receive a quality education at Carolina? Is the University setting them up to succeed in life after college and after sports?

Mike Ingersoll is a 2010 UNC grad and a four-year member of the Tar Heel football team; he was recruited by John Bunting and played under Butch Davis, starting for two years at right tackle. After a short professional career, he’s returned to UNC, where he’s now a second-year law student.

Ingersoll says – contrary to popular belief – that UNC really did care about academics, even before any violations were uncovered, and that all the recent reforms have made the situation even better. He also says the University does a fine job preparing student-athletes for lives and careers beyond professional sports.

Mike Ingersoll shared his story this week with WCHL’s Aaron Keck.