The NCAA's enforcement arm since the start of '16 has submitted 30 cases to the Committee on Infractions, and the "use of 'immunity' as a means for the NCAA to collect information" has emerged as a trend in those investigations, according to Dan Wolken of USA TODAY. Despite the "typical chorus of criticism for the NCAA’s enforcement arm -- most recently over North Carolina’s long-running academic fraud case -- it would be difficult to fault its level of activity." In addition to the aforementioned 30 cases, seven are "currently in the processing phase" and 59 more are "currently being investigated." The NCAA since the beginning of last year has "levied penalties against Notre Dame football, Missouri basketball, Southern Miss basketball and former basketball coach Donnie Tyndall while also issuing allegations" against Louisville basketball and Ole Miss football, which "have not yet been adjudicated." While immunity has "long been written into the NCAA’s bylaws as a tool for enforcement, it has gotten significantly more attention recently due to its usefulness in cracking some high-profile cases." NCAA VP/Enforcement Jon Duncan said that it is a "valuable tool but stopped short of citing it as the primary reason for a recent uptick in activity." He said, "We use it as appropriate now; I don’t know if it’s more or less. But it is effective." Duncan said that offering immunity is "particularly helpful with athletes who might be fearful that they would incriminate themselves in violations" (USA TODAY, 2/9).
