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The NCAA investigation of the North Carolina athletics department is focused on improper contact between sports agents and members of the Tar Heels' football team, according to a report from ESPN.com.

Defensive tackle Marvin Austin and wide receiver Greg Little reportedly were among those interviewed about receiving gifts or extra benefits, but little else is known since the NCAA is prohibiting school officials from publicly addressing the situation.

Austin's Twitter account had been deactivated and deleted by Friday morning.

All UNC athletics director Dick Baddour has been able to acknowledge is that representatives from the NCAA are on campus to speak to several student-athletes.

One article which gained traction online was a blog post entitled “The UNC Football Scandal” by recent University of Florida Law School graduate Darren Heitner.

Heitner, who is the CEO of Dynasty Athlete Representation and a representative for a number of athletes, wrote that, according to a source, the situation could involve paid trips to Miami, money for accessories and “perhaps even a Bentley or two.”

Steve Kirschner, UNC's associate director of athletics for communication, had no comment on the report.

When asked about those allegations, Heitner backed off his remarks slightly.

“What I wrote is that there is an NCAA investigation, there are players that are being interviewed and a subject of the interviews of whether certain players received benefits, gifts from an agent or agents,” Heitner said.

&"The NCAA investigation will determine whether that’s the case or not, but there are inferences that can be made based on what has occurred thus far.”

ESPN.com reported that Austin was asked about having been seen driving the car of former Tar Heels defensive tackle Kentwan Balmer, a first-round pick in the 2008 NFL draft. Balmer was a senior at North Carolina when Austin was a freshman.

Balmer’s agent, Gary Wichard of California-based Pro Tect Management, told The Charlotte Observer by phone Friday that he has never met with Austin.

“I’ve never talked to him about representing him,” Wichard said. “I've never gone down there, and I never will.”

Wichard said, though, that Balmer has spent much of the offseason training in Chapel Hill and that Balmer and Austin are best friends — like a big brother and little brother — but said he doesn't know anything about the investigation.

The rules regarding what type of contact is not allowed to occur between an agent and a student-athlete are fairly clear-cut.

“To maintain that amateur status and make sure they’re keeping their NCAA eligibility, the student-athlete can’t have an agreement, verbal or written, with an agent or someone that’s acting on behalf of the agent, like a runner, or accept benefits from those folks,” NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn said.

But that’s not to say no contact can occur between an amateur athlete and an agent.

Osburn said schools regularly hold “agent days” during which players meet with prospective agents and are encouraged to ask questions about what lies ahead if they go on to compete professionally.

North Carolina is a university that regularly holds this type of event, said Amy Herman, UNC’s assistant athletics director for compliance.

With head coach Butch Davis and senior associate athletics director Larry Gallo in attendance, players are exposed to a representative from the NFL, an agent and a financial adviser.

“They walk through the ins and outs of what to expect during the process, what you can and can’t do,” Herman said.

Herman spoke on the condition that her comments were not to be directly applied to the current investigation at UNC.

The NCAA recently banned the Southern California football program from the postseason for 2010 and 2011 and stripped it of 30 scholarships for improper benefits New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush accepted while he was a student-athlete.

Recent No. 1 NBA draft pick John Wall was suspended for two games at Kentucky for his relationship with an agent.

The timetable for how long the UNC program will be under investigation is unclear, as Baddour declined to answer that question.

Contact David Reynolds at 373-7016 or david.reynolds@news-record.com