The University of North Carolina found out today what exactly their punishment will be after the NCAA discovered that athletes took impermissible benefits totaling over $30,000, ineligible players played anyway, a tutor helped players too much, and an assistant coach took money from an agent.

UNC suggested self-imposed penalties including vacating all 16 wins from 2008 and 2009, cutting nine scholarships over the next three years two years of probation, and a $50,000 fine.

The NCAA wasn’t satisfied with just those stipulations, though.

After ruling that North Carolina was guilty of academic fraud and a failure to monitor its football program, the NCAA announced that the Tar Heels are banned from a bowl game in 2012, will lose 15 scholarships over three years, and will be on probation for three years.

John Blake, the former assistant coach who allegedly was given personal loans by NFL agent Gary Wichard’s firm, was hit with a a three-year show-cause penalty.

“This case should serve as a cautionary tale to all institutions to vigilantly monitor the activities of those student-athletes who possess the potential to be top professional prospects,” the NCAA Committee on Infraction stated in their report. “It should also serve to warn student-athletes that if they choose to accept benefits from agents or their associates, they risk losing their eligibility for collegiate competition.”

All things considered, it probably could’ve been worse for UNC. While they are facing stronger punishment than what they self-imposed, they’ve got new leadership in place in Head Coach Larry Fedora and Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham.