Many at the university hoped Wainstein's investigation would bring some closure to the long-running scandal, which is rooted in an NCAA investigation focused on improper benefits within the football program in 2010. [...] findings of a systemic problem in the former African and Afro-American Studies department could lead to NCAA sanctions and possible dismissal of additional UNC staff. The NCAA hit the football program in 2012 with scholarship reductions and a postseason ban, though the academic violations focused mainly on a tutor providing improper help to players on papers. The report outlined how the fraud ran unchecked for so long, as well as how faculty and administration officials missed or looked past red flags such as unusually high numbers of independent study course enrollments. Wainstein's staff reviewed records dating to the 1980s and interviewed 126 people, including men's basketball coach Roy Williams, who said he trusted the school "to put on legitimate classes," according to the report.