(AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) It has taken more than two years for North Carolina to appear before an NCAA infractions committee panel since initially being charged with five top-level violations amid its long-running academic scandal.

The two-day hearing begins Wednesday in Nashville, Tennessee. The panel will ultimately determine whether the school faces penalties that could include fines, probation or vacated wins and championships, making this a major step toward resolution in an oft-delayed case filled with starts, stops and twice-rewritten charges.

"The hearing stage, no matter what size of a case, it's a big deal to any university," said Michael L. Buckner, a Florida-based attorney who has worked on infractions cases. "I've been a part of what you'd consider small cases, I've been a part of one of the largest cases. And trust me: The client feels the same anxiousness and apprehension no matter what size of a case it is.

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