Tami Hansbrough Resigns in Wake of Internal Investigation at UNC | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
William Burgess Tami Hansbrough, the mother of former University of North Carolina basketball star Tyler Hansbrough and a UNC employee, has been placed on administrative leave while an investigation into trips she took with school money continues, according to Dan Kane of The (Raleigh) News & Observer (via The Charlotte Observer).
UPDATE: Wednesday, Sept. 12, 7:45 p.m. ET by Ben Chodos
Tami Hansbrough has resigned her position at the University of North Carolina after being implicated in an investigation showed that she used university funds to take personal trips.
Tami Hansbrough, the mother of former North Carolina basketball All-America Tyler Hansbrough, resigned her position as a school fundraiser Wednesday as the school continued to study trips she took with Matt Kupec, UNC's vice chancellor for university advancement.
Kupec, a former Tar Heels quarterback, resigned Sunday night after an internal review showed he had charged personal trips with Hansbrough to the university. Hansbrough had been placed on administrative leave.
Hansbrough had worked for UNC since 2008.
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The investigation surrounds Hansbrough's relationship with Matt Kupec, who was a quarterback at the university and went on to become a top fundraiser. Based on the report, it's believed the pair used UNC funds to take personal excursions.
For Hansbrough, the alleged misconduct dates back to her son's final collegiate season with the Tar Heels when she was traveling to see him play, something she continued when Ben Hansbrough played with Notre Dame, Kane reports.
The trips to see Tyler's games were originally allowed because it was viewed as a fundraising opportunity for North Carolina.
Kupec resigned after being presented with the information already gathered during the investigation.
In the report, Chancellor Holden Thorp states that the university will continue to research the situation:
"It was difficult because Matt has been such a great person for the university and has raised billions of dollars for us," Thorp added, "but I had to share with him what we had been finding and it didn’t look good and that it’s likely that this sort of personally driven travel was unacceptable, and we are going to need to do a pretty thorough investigation of it."
Hansbrough hasn't released a statement. She is divorced and began a relationship with Kupec, who had separated from his wife in 2009, prior to being hired to a new fundraising position in 2010, another area of concern in the investigation, according to the report.
The Observer article states that, although the travel included the aforementioned trips to see basketball games, chancellor Thorp made it clear he doesn't believe the investigation will have any direct impact on the athletic department.
That said, the school reports that it has been in contact with NCAA officials to make sure no violations have been committed and that it's simply a personnel matter.
The investigation is ongoing.