Cal State Fullerton to
Study Athletics Program
Specific areas the study will cover are
academic integrity, governance and commitment to rules compliance,
as well as a commitment to equity and student-athlete welfare.
October 19, 2005 :: No. 54
Cal State Fullerton is launching a
yearlong, campuswide effort to study its athletics program
as part of the NCAA Division I athletics certification program.
Specific areas the study will cover are academic integrity,
governance and commitment to rules compliance, as well as
a commitment to equity and student-athlete welfare.
While academic accreditation is common in colleges and universities,
this program focuses solely on certification of athletics
programs. Following a pilot project, the Division I membership
endorsed the program and its standards at the 1993 NCAA Convention.
Cal State Fullerton completed its first certification
self-study in 1998.
In 1997, 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 self-study will be
the second in the certification process for Cal State Fullerton.
The certification program’s purpose is
to help ensure integrity in the university’s athletics
operations. It serves to further open up athletics to the
rest of the university community and to the public. Institutions
are expected to benefit by increasing campuswide awareness
and knowledge of the athletics program, confirming its strengths
and developing plans to improve areas of concern.
The committee responsible for the study includes
CSUF President Milton A. Gordon, CSUF Executive Vice President
Judith Anderson — appointed by Gordon to chair a steering
committee to oversee the effort — and various members
of the university faculty and staff, as well as Athletics
Department personnel.
“We’ll be doing a thorough review
of our intercollegiate athletics program; one that invites
input and feedback from the campus community,” said
Anderson.
A member of the NCAA membership services staff
conducted a one-day orientation videoconference last week
with the committee and its subcommittees.
Within each area to be studied by the committee,
the program has standards, or operating principles, which
were adopted by the association to serve as a “measuring
stick” for the evaluation of all Division I members.
Once the university has concluded its study,
an external team of reviewers will spend two or more days
visiting the campus for an on-site evaluation. Those reviewers
will be peers from other colleges, universities or 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 publicly. For
institutions that fail to conduct a comprehensive self-study
or to correct problems, tough sanctions can be imposed.
The three options of certification status are: (a) certified,
(b) certified with conditions, or (c) not certified. While
institutions will have an opportunity to correct deficient
areas, those that do not take corrective actions may be ruled
ineligible for NCAA championships.
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 standards of eligibility, and studying all phases
of intercollegiate athletics.
Serving with Gordon and Anderson on the university’s
NCAA Athletics Certification Steering Committee as assistant
chairs are Bill Barrett, associate vice president for administration,
and Lee Gilbert, acting associate dean for administration
in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Also serving on the steering committee are:
Stephan Walk, associate professor of kinesiology and health
science; Davida Hopkins-Parham, executive assistant to the
vice president for academic affairs; Patti Laguna, associate
professor of kinesiology and health science; Robert Ammann,
assistant men’s soccer coach; Patty Sexton, coordinator
of athletics personnel; Erica Satterfield, assistant commissioner
for compliance, Big West Conference; alumnus F. Michael Stone
of F. Michael Stone Accountancy in Santa Ana; Brian Quinn,
director of athletics; Allison Rich, senior associate director
of athletics/senior woman administrator; Nancy Dority, assistant
vice president for admissions and records; Mona Mohammadi,
Associated Students president; Erica Pryor, Student-Athlete
Advisory Committee chair; Sandra Rhoten, associate dean of
student affairs for judicial affairs; Pam Jones-Tintle, director
of development, University Advancement; and Sandra Sutphen,
emeritus professor of political science.
Hopkins-Parham chairs the Subcommittee on Governance
and Commitment to Rules Compliance. Walk chairs the Subcommittee
on Academic Integrity; Laguna chairs the Subcommittee on Equity
and Student-Athlete Welfare.
Media Contacts: |
Judith Anderson 657-278-3458 or janderson@fullerton.edu
Paula Selleck, Public Affairs, 657-278-4856 or pselleck@fullerton.edu
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