CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Marvin Austin, Robert Quinn and Greg Little were supposed to lead North Carolina Tar Heels resurgence under Butch Davis this season. Instead, they never even stepped on the field.

And the trouble for the football program is still not over.

The school kicked Austin off the team Monday while the NCAA declared Quinn and Little “permanently ineligible” amid an ongoing investigation into whether players received improper benefits from agents.

Monday was the latest step in what has been a painstaking process that has inched along for weeks. The Tar Heels, who are also being investigated for possible academic violations, began the season with 13 players sidelined. The status of six players remains in question.

The investigations have damaged the reputation of the program and university. They also have raised the possibility of sanctions or vacated wins, even questions about a lack of institutional control for the program.

The NCAA said Quinn and Little received travel accommodations and jewelry, then lied about it to investigators in three separate interviews. Meanwhile, the school decided it wouldn’t wait any longer to cut ties with Austin — a star defensive tackle at the center of the investigation since it began during the summer — after the NCAA provided preliminary information that Austin had received double the benefits furnished to Quinn and Little.

Athletic director Dick Baddour said the school wouldn’t appeal the NCAA ruling.

“I’m also very sad and disappointed that these individuals made these extraordinarily poor choices,” Davis said during a news conference. “Not only did they jeopardize themselves in their lives, they certainly have jeopardized this team, the university and I know that they’re very remorseful about that. But it doesn’t diminish the fact that these actions were poor choices in these kids’ lives.”

Baddour said Davis continues to have “my complete support” in resolving the issues, including better monitoring of players’ activities, offseason travel and associations. He also said the school could hear rulings on more players later this week.

“I feel very strong about our compliance staff, about our compliance program,” Baddour said. “I feel very strong about this football program, as I do the other programs that we have. I think we’re in good stead. I’m going to fight the institutional control issues because of what we had in place and because of the way we’re handling it.”