The NCAA has ruled North Carolina wide receiver Tez Walker ineligible for the season, UNC announced Thursday.

Walker, a transfer from Kent State and a preseason All-ACC selection, was not cleared by the NCAA as a two-time transfer.

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With the announcement, UNC head coach Mack Brown released a lengthy, harshly worded statement. "I don’t know that I’ve ever been more disappointed in a person, a group of people, or an institution than I am with the NCAA right now. It’s clear that the NCAA is about process and it couldn’t care less about the young people it’s supposed to be supporting. Plain and simple, the NCAA has failed Tez and his family and I’ve lost all faith in its ability to lead and govern our sport. They’ve messed so many things up as it relates to college football, and now their failures have negatively impacted the life of one of our own.

"Shame on you, NCAA. SHAME ON YOU!" Brown's statement said.

Walker, from Charlotte, committed to East Tennessee State but suffered a knee injury and enrolled at NC Central, whose 2020 football season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Walker played two seasons at Kent State before transferring to North Carolina in the off-season. Walker, a junior, had 63 receptions for 1,045 yards and 12 touchdowns in two seasons at Kent State.

On January 11, after Walker had enrolled at UNC, the NCAA Division I Council voted to tighten criteria for immediate eligibility waivers for undergraduate students who transfer a second time. The council includes a representative from each Division I conference and it voted unanimously. Multi-time transfers must demonstrate a personal need for medial or safety reasons to depart the previous school.

Brown had repeatedly said Walker should be considered a one-time transfer and eligible to play immediately.

Walker said he transferred to UNC to be closer to his ailing grandmother, who has never seen him play in person. Brown blasted the NCAA for its handling of the situation.

"I can’t begin to understand how this has happened. The decision makers at the NCAA and on the committee should be ashamed of themselves for doing this to a young man. As has been clearly documented, Tez should be eligible for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the mental health issues he’s faced during his time in college. And with this decision, the NCAA has placed an unnecessary burden on him. He’s had a rough go of it and this will surely only make it worse. How dare they ever speak about mental health and student-athlete welfare again," Brown's statement said.

UNC director of athletics Bubba Cunningham also released a strong statement against the NCAA on Thursday. "Seeing more than 50 student-athletes transfer to one school or watching a starting quarterback play for his fourth university in his sixth year doesn’t make sense to many. Arbitrarily prohibiting a student-athlete from competition -- when that student-athlete has only played two seasons of football in the last five years at one school and wants to play closer to home for legitimate family and mental health reasons -- does not make sense," Cunningham's statement said.

Walker was expected to play a large role in UNC's offense, which replaced its top two receivers from 2022 — Josh Downs (94 catches, 1,029 yards, 11 touchdowns) and Antoine Green (43 catches, 798 yards, seven touchdowns).

UNC student Devon Cholon says the sitting out a season is too steep of a punishment.
"I can understand a game or two but an entire season is ridiculous punishment for transfer," Cholon said.

Gov. Roy Cooper also weighed in on the matter with a statement. "The NCAA is now the Wild West so it’s disappointing that the boot comes down on a young man victimized by a bizarre interpretation of a late rule change. Instead of unfair attempts to assert its relevancy, the NCAA needs new priorities," Cooper said.