With all due respect I think there are a few notable things in the UNCheat case:
1. Plenty of schools have "rocks for jocks" classes but UNC took it to another level with total no-show classes.
2. Despite their initial claims that this was only a football issue, we now know that it included their supposedly pristine bball program as well, and that (among others) Roy Williams had direct knowledge of the fraud. This wasn't just rogue boosters doing something illicit without the involvement of the coaching and/or administrative staff. In this case it appears that the fraud was directed by those who were supposedly in charge.
3. Most importantly, the NCAA has done absolutely nothing to UNC, and continues to turn a blind eye to the situation. As I said in another thread awhile back, if having athlete-specific classes that don't require attendance or any real work doesn't constitute a violation of the rules, then what the hell good does it do to have rules in the first place?!
I don't disagree with your general point, but IMO there's a big difference between "we all know this goes on everywhere to some degree" and "it's out in the open and the NCAA is ignoring it". Something is very rotten in Chapel Hill and the NCAA is either playing favorites, profiteering, or both.
A few counterpoints:
(1) I don't think there is anything particularly exceptional about the no-show courses. A large number of college courses -- and I'm talking "real" courses here, not just the jock curriculum -- either have no attendance requirement or, in the alternative, don't diligently take attendance and as such effectively render as moot whatever policy they have in place. Ask any person who has been in college in recent memory, and I guarantee you that each of them will tell you that, come final exam day, you see people in your classes that you've simply never seen in there before. Furthermore, final-paper-only courses are pretty common, too, especially in qualitative fields of study, which is where the jock majors are always found.
(2) Did Roy Williams know? Absolutely. They all know, and again anyone surprised by that simply hasn't been paying attention. The coaches know these kids as high school students, they knew their low GPAs in grade-inflated public education schools, they know their low standardized test scores (and, in many cases, the multiple number of times and the number of tutors they had to utilize they had to re-take those tests just to get through the Clearinghouse), they know that they wouldn't have the first chance at academic admission were it not for their athletic prowess, they know that they are in gimme courses taking the minimum number of hours to remain eligible, etc. So Roy Williams knew, so what? Again, that's just not news to anyone who has ever paid attention.
(3) The NCAA did nothing, has done done nothing, and, in fact, can do nothing under their current rule scheme. The NCAA by-laws are exceptionally clear on this point: A class can be the biggest joke imaginable, and it can be used in practice to keep countless athletes eligible, but as long as the course is merely
open to all students, then there is no violation. That has been expressly condoned behavior in their purview for many years now.
Again, it has always been the case. The players have always known it, the coaches have always known it, the NCAA has always known it, the fans (at least those paying attention) have always known it, and all of those groups have consented to the prevailing "student-athlete" regime. So what is really special about the UNC case? I'd argue nothing.
. I tend to agree. 
