CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The next and potentially final step in the University of North Carolina’s years-long NCAA investigation into academic irregularities in the formerly named African and Afro-American Studies department will occur Friday at 10 a.m. (EST) when the NCAA releases its infraction report. Sources confirm the University was given 24 hours notice of the announcement schedule on Thursday morning.

The NCAA had planned to release the report last Friday, but UNC asked for it to be postponed, per sources, because of events surrounding the University's major fundraising campaign that was launching that day.

After multiple delays and three notices of allegations, UNC officials and the institution’s outside counsel, along with former AFAM department administrator Deborah Crowder and former faculty chair Jan Boxill, appeared before a panel of the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions in Nashville, Tenn. in August.

Q&A: NCAA's UNC Investigation

The NCAA enforcement staff alleged the following five violations last December.

1. African and Afro-American Studies student services manager Deborah Crowder and department professor/chair Julius Nyang'oro committed extra benefit and ethical conduct violations from 2002-11 by overseeing anomalous courses in the department and giving athletics personnel authority to impact aspects of the courses for student-athletes. School personnel committed extra benefits violation by leveraging the relationship with Crowder and Nyang'oro to provide special arrangements to student-athletes.

2. Academic counselor Jan Boxill provided extra benefits by way of impermissible academic assistance and special arrangements to women's basketball players from 2003-2010.

3. Crowder violated the NCAA principles of ethical conduct by failing to cooperate with the NCAA enforcement staff's requests.

4. Nyang'oro violated the NCAA principles of ethical conduct by failing to cooperate with the NCAA enforcement staff's requests.

5. Allegation No. 1 and No. 2 show school's failure to exercise institutional control and failure to monitor the conduct and administration of athletics programs.

In its written reply to UNC’s response to its third notice of allegations, the NCAA enforcement staff indicated the AFAM courses in question were not the focal point of the investigation, but rather the arrangements afforded to student-athletes with regard to those courses.

“It is equally important to be clear what this case is not about,” the enforcement staff wrote. "This case is not about so-called fake classes or easy courses. The institution acknowledges that although the courses at issue did not meet its expectations for academic rigor, the institution did not deem the courses to be fraudulent. Nor is this case about NCAA review of classroom curriculum. The institution continues to argue that the NCAA enforcement staff should not judge academic rigor or revisit classroom decisions. The enforcement staff continues to agree and feels strongly that those considerations are reserved to the sound discretion of individual schools and their accrediting agencies. Nothing in this case suggests otherwise.”

According to NCAA bylaws, once UNC receives the infractions report, it has 15 calendar days to decide if it wants to appeal the ruling. The NCAA website indicates a 110-day timeline for the appeals process. The decision of the Infractions Appeals Committee is final.