UNC athlete academic standards will rise, says outgoing chancellor Holden Thorp

UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp says that his school will introduce a new standard for student athletes in the spring, one that will possibly surpass current NCAA regulations for student athletes.

Thorp says the school will be "ahead of the curve" after revealing its new regulations for student-athletes. "Academics are going to have to come first," Thorp said. "And it’s clear that they haven’t to the extent that they should."

Thorp has been in charge for the academics scandal that saw Butch Davis fired and left the football team on probation. The school has hired an auditing firm to look into the apparent academic mishandling of the football team, although the school has already undergone an internal probe revealing problems.

Thorp elaborated that he believed the school's new standards would not prevent the team from succeeding;

"I do expect that to evolve and obviously evolve in a way that allows us to recruit people who can succeed in the classroom and on the field as well. We will be enrolling a greater percentage of students that are above whatever lines we’ve had in the past."

Thorp will resign as chancellor effective June 30th, 2013.

This story was originally published on SBNation.com.