UNC not alone in dealing with long-running NCAA probes

"Having the process hang over your institution as a cloud in public is in and of itself a penalty, regardless of what the formal findings by the Committee on Infractions or the infractions appeals committee turn out to be," said Stu Brown, an Atlanta-based attorney who has worked with schools on compliance issues.

The case at UNC — which is in a second straight Final Four — grew as an offshoot of a 2010 probe into the football program and centers on irregularities in an academic department.

The NCAA began a long-running investigation in 2012 after a university probe discovered academic and recruiting misconduct involving the women's basketball program.

While the women's basketball and track and field portion of the case was settled last year, the football case is pending with the program facing 21 violations in a case that could easily drag into 2018.

The penalties included scholarship reductions and a one-year postseason ban for the men's basketball program along with a nine-game suspension for longtime coach Jim Boeheim.

The NCAA investigated improper benefits tied to former football star and Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush as well as former basketball player O.J. Mayo.