UNC To Vacate 2008, 2009 Football Seasons, Cut Scholarships

North Carolina will vacate all 16 football victories from the 2008 and 2009 seasons, as well as reduce scholarships and put its program on two years of probation as self-imposed penalties following an NCAA investigation into improper benefits and academic misconduct. In Monday's response to the NCAA's notice of allegations outlining nine violations, the school says it will cut three scholarships for each of the next three academic years. The school will also pay a $50,000 fine, though it isn't imposing a postseason ban. Fourteen players missed at least one game and seven were forced to sit the entire season, with four of those either dismissed from the team or ruled permanently ineligible by the NCAA. The school still must appear before the NCAA infractions committee on Oct. 28.