UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS BEGINS YEAR-LONG SELF-STUDY OF ATHLETICS PROGRAM

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Beginning next week, the University of Arkansas will be among more than 50 institutions, including the University of North Carolina, the University of Southern California, and the Northwestern University, engaged in year-long, campus self-studies of their athletics programs.

Mandated by the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association), these studies will culminate in the determination and announcement of the institutions’ certification status in December of 2004.

Specific areas the studies will cover include academic and fiscal integrity, governance, rules compliance, as well as a commitment to equity, student-athlete welfare and sportsmanship.

While academic accreditation is common in colleges and universities, this program focuses solely on certification of athletics programs.

"We welcome this opportunity to analyze our program and enhance the athletic department with this certification review," Arkansas Director Men’s Athletics Frank Broyles said. "We have undergone similar self-studies in conjunction with the Southeastern Conference in the past, but the NCAA certification process allows us to improve our program by learning from procedures that have been successful at other institutions. It is important for the growth of our department, to continually review our systems and learn from others."

The University of Arkansas was among those that helped shape the certification program by volunteering to participate in a pilot project for the effort in 1992. Following the pilot project, the Division I membership overwhelmingly supported the program and its standards at the 1993 NCAA Convention. The University completed its first certification under the adopted self-study certification process in 1997. During the same year, the Division I membership voted to change the frequency of athletics certification from once every five years to once every 10 years and to require a five-year, interim-status report. Thus, the current study will be the third in the University’s history.

The certification program’s purpose is to help ensure integrity in the institution’s athletics operations. It opens up athletics to the rest of the university community and to the public. Institutions benefit by increasing campus-wide awareness and knowledge of athletics programs that tends to confirm areas of strength and to lead to development of plans for improvement when needed.

"Peer review is extremely important, and the recommendations that come from others in your field are just as vital to a successful athletic program as they are to our academic programs," Director for Women’s Athletics Bev Lewis said. "Feedback from an outside source allows us to validate what we are doing right and helps us spot the areas where we can improve."

The committee responsible for the University of Arkansas study will include athletics staff members, faculty from across the campus, various staff personnel and selected student athletes—more than 60 individuals in all. Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Dr. Johnetta Cross Brazzell and Howard W. Brill, professor of law, will serve as chair and co-chair of the committee, and Mira Colman, assistant director of membership services with the NCAA, will travel to the campus on October 27 for a one-day visit to meet with the committee and its subcommittees early in the process.

"We are grateful to the members of our faculty and staff who are participating in this year-long study," Chancellor John A. White said. "But what I think will prove to be most beneficial will be our reliance on members of our student body. It is imperative that we hear their voice and are receptive to their feedback because I believe these young men and women will give us the necessary insight needed for making improvements within our athletic departments."

After the University study concludes, an external team of reviewers will conduct a four-day evaluation visit on campus, scheduled for December 2004. Those reviewers will be peers from other colleges, universities or athletic conference offices. That team will report to the NCAA Division I Committee on Athletics Certification, another independent group. The committee will then determine the institution’s certification status and announce the decision. The three options of certification status are: certified; certified with conditions; or not certified. Institutions will have an opportunity to correct deficiencies. Those that do not take corrective action may be ruled ineligible for NCAA championships. For institutions that fail to conduct a comprehensive self-study or correct problems, sanctions can be imposed.

The NCAA is a membership organization of colleges and universities that participate in intercollegiate athletics. The primary purpose of the association is to maintain intercollegiate athletics as an integral part of the educational program and the athlete as an integral part of the student body. Activities of the NCAA membership include formulating rules of play for NCAA sports, conducting national championships, adopting and enforcing student eligibility, and studying all phases of intercollegiate athletics. For more information, please go to http://www.ncaa.org/.