A central figure in the long-running paper class scandal at UNC has submitted a response to the NCAA ahead of an upcoming deadline.

Deborah Crowder is a retired administrator from the formerly named African and Afro-American Studies department at UNC. Crowder’s name has been at the crux of a long-running NCAA investigation into an academic scandal at the university.

Crowder said in a response to the NCAA that no courses were created to help student-athletes remain eligible and that athletes and non-athletes received equal treatment. Crowder’s response to the NCAA was disseminated to several local media outlets last Thursday.

The university is facing a deadline this week to issue its response to the latest Notice of Allegations made up of five charges against the university, including lack of institutional control.

The Associated Press quoted Crowder’s response saying the courses were “generally available to student,” not just athletes.

“The courses were academically rigorous and did not violate any official university policies. And all students were treated the same with respect to all material aspects of the courses.”

Crowder has not cooperated during the NCAA investigation into the scandal, although she did speak with former United States prosecutor Kenneth Wainstein whose university-commissioned investigation was released in 2014.

You can see the full letter from Crowder’s attorney here via Inside Carolina.

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