National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

November 17, 1997

Minority opportunities committee pursues strategic plan

The NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee reviewed its strategic plan and discussed issues related to initial eligibility, athletics certification and diversity education during its November 2-3 meeting in Kansas City, Missouri.

The committee reaffirmed its commitment to executing its strategic plan, which has been forwarded to the Division I Strategic Planning Cabinet and approved by both the Division II and Division III Management Councils. Primary initiatives within the plan target an increase in the aware-ness of scholarship opportunities, a continuing review of legislation that impacts minorities and expansion of public-relations initiatives involving outreach and diversity-education programs.

The committee established subgroups to monitor progress toward goals within the plan throughout the year.

The committee also heard several reports, including a presentation from the NCAA research staff regarding initial eligibility. The data presented from the Academic Performance Study, Graduation-Rates Reports and the Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse indicate that an equally weighted combination of the core grade-point average and standardized-test (ACT/SAT) score is the best single predictor of success in college, and that an essential tension is created between the conflicting goals of raising graduation rates and reducing potential adverse impacts, particularly on minority groups.

The data also point to a correlation between the student-athlete's family income level and initial eligibility, in that student-athletes from families with low income levels were more likely to be denied initial eligibility, compared to higher-income family counterparts.

The committee noted that the data and subsequent findings had been reported to the Division I Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet and the Division I Board of Directors.

The committee also heard from Patty Viverito, chair of the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics, and discussed common issues, including the establishment of reporting lines within the new governance structure; gaining access to presidents on issues that deal with Association-wide principles; protecting minimum-representation numbers on governance committees; and strengthening the Division I athletics certification process, particularly as it relates to accountability in furthering gender and ethnic-minority initiatives.

It was agreed that there should be no distinction between the sinceri-ty of efforts in both committees and that each group should weigh equally the concerns of women and ethnic minorities.

Other highlights

Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee
November 2-3/Kansas City, Missouri

  • Received an update on plans to relocate the NCAA national office to Indianapolis and reiterated concerns regarding diversity within the national office staff.

  • Discussed communication issues related to submitting legislative proposals through the Strategic Planning Cabinet.

  • Re-elected Charles Whitcomb, faculty athletics representative at San Jose State University, as committee chair.

  • Reviewed the advertising campaign for NCAA Football and noted concerns related to the lack of attention to diversity, sportsmanship and ethical-conduct issues.