UNC history department in uproar after a professor’s course on sports history was cancelled

More than 40 members of the history department objected to administrative interference in Professor Jay Smith’s History 383 course on the history of big-time college sports and the rights of athletes in an open statement sent to the deans of the College of Arts and Sciences Friday. 

The faculty said that despite media reports that department chairperson Fitz Brundage made the decision to cancel Smith's class on his own, they believe Brundage was actually under pressure from the College of Arts and Sciences to prevent students from learning about the University’s recent scandals.

“In the absence of any other credible explanation, we believe that the College took this action to block broader understanding of the recent scandals in UNC’s major intercollegiate athletic programs and other violations of legal, moral, and academic standards in the history of modern college athletics,” they said.

The faculty said Smith is a recognized authority on the subject of his course and was "clearly...singled out for unprecedented and adverse scrutiny."

They said it is clear that this course was scrutinized for its content and that Brundage “felt pressured by the administration to cancel any future offerings of the course until Fall 2018, concerned about adverse consequences for the department if he proceeded with the scheduling of the course in the Fall 2017.”