According to a national survey, 93 percent of NCAA athletics departments experienced a crisis of some magnitude within the period studied (1999-2000), and fewer than half of the respondents had written plans in place to deal with it.

A survey of NCAA schools was conducted in 2002 to evaluate the state of crisis management preparedness in university athletics departments. The survey was part of a graduate research project at Eastern Washington University that included both a national survey and a crisis plan for the Eastern Washington athletics department.

Of the 215 surveys distributed to athletics directors in all divisions, 97 (45 percent) were returned -- 36 of which were from Division I, 16 from Division II and 38 from Division III.

According to the survey, only 48 percent of schools had a crisis management policy within their departments, and 31 percent of the athletics directors who responded admitted their policies were inadequate. Also, 5 percent of the athletics directors reported neither a campus nor a department written policy was available.

The survey divided potential crisis situations into three categories and asked schools to report the number of incidents in each category over a two-year period. A level one crisis included such situations as academic ineligibility of scholarship athletes; suspension of an athlete for violation of team rules; coaching behavior publicly reprimanded by the conference or NCAA; athlete injury that requires removal from the venue by ambulance; a drug or alcohol violation; or athletes or coaches missing games due to family or personal difficulties.

At the Division I level, an average of 6.89 incidents per year were reported in this category. The average rose to seven incidents in 2000.

A level two incident was described as an athlete or coach charged with a misdemeanor or felony without a weapon; athlete disqualification by the NCAA; death in the family of a coach or athlete; hospitalization of athlete due to injury; an NCAA violation that penalizes recruiting, postseason play or scholarships; minor transportation accidents involving a team with no hospitalization; or resignation of a head coach during the season. At this level, Division I schools reported an average of 2.1 incidents per year.

A level three incident involved a team transportation accident involving multiple hospitalizations or deaths; suicide of an athlete or coach; felony charge including a weapon; or a hostage situation or severe venue emergency such as a fire or bomb threat during a contest. Division I schools reported only .42 incidents per year in this category.

In addition to the seemingly low percentage of athletics departments that had prepared written policies for such matters, only 22 percent of athletics directors reported that they provide any kind of crisis management training for their staffs.

According to Herb Appenzeller in "Risk Management in Sport," athletics departments share a public exposure similar to celebrities and politicians. Consequently, an athletics crisis can sway public thinking about the institutions. Athletics departments have become large social, economic and political influences in America, and are now the biggest economic operational units on many campuses.

As budgets have increased, so have the rewards associated with lawsuits. In "From the Gym to the Jury," Appenzeller called the growing number of sport lawsuits "alarming." He found that a 1997 study of awards in sport litigation by the University of Houston reported the average injury award was more than $1.5 million.

Where do schools go from here? Research in the business sector shows that effective crisis management can drastically reduce the duration and effects of crisis events. The first step is to put something in writing. An effective plan will improve the institution's confidence in handling a crisis, shorten the length and effects of the crisis, manage the public message and help reduce liability with efficient record-keeping.

In formulating a plan at Eastern Washington University, the process included the following steps:

• Assemble the team. A core team should include a department crisis officer, an information officer (usually the sports information director), an administrator or office manager and an associate crisis officer. Responsibilities for implementing department crisis management should be divided primarily among this group.

* Needs assessment. Determine the current level of management already in place. At Eastern Washington, both a campus and a skeletal department plan already were in place. The campus-wide plan, administered by Eastern Washington campus security, follows a Federal Emergency Management Agency model of incident management used by many government agencies. It was then determined at which level of crisis the athletics department deferred to the campus plan. Those guidelines were arrived at with the cooperation of the campus security chief, campus legal counsel, facilities manager, head athletic trainer and athletics department crisis officer.

• Identify procedures for handling crises at each level. This process includes brainstorming crisis scenarios in levels and prescribing the proper procedures, converging risk management and crisis management. Determine where the department needs to defer to campus media relations and campus security. At Eastern Washington, a telephone tree was established to assist coaches, athletic trainers, athletes and facilities people in reporting crises. Eastern Washington campus security has a similar tree for reporting campus-wide crises.

• Form a communication strategy. The most important factor in diffusing a crisis is positive public perception. The message the institution conveys to the public during a crisis can be one of cooperation or defense. Strive for cooperation and honesty in the message while protecting the privacy and integrity of the department and those involved. Appoint an official spokesperson to deal with press and train them in crisis communication. The time spent learning the ropes of crisis communication will benefit a department immensely. Remember who the stakeholders are -- they are the public.

• Establish a simple documentation plan. A thorough paperwork route needs to be established to document incidents. These documents may later aid in any legal action that may result, so keep them confidential and thorough. Don't complicate the documentation to make it seem "official." Keep it as short as it can be to maintain attention to important details. Files on each incident should be maintained by the department crisis officer. A short incident report should be filled out as soon as possible after a crisis has taken place by those involved in the incident. At Eastern Washington, documentation routes already existed for NCAA violations and venue emergencies (including athlete injuries), so those routes were not re-established.

• Schedule staff training. Staff training is a must, but should not be overly time-consuming. The Eastern Washington athletics department holds comprehensive training for staff in the fall, in addition to other training events during the school year. The crisis management component was scheduled to be addressed each fall in a short, interactive session.

• Implement an ongoing evaluation process. This should include an evaluation of the files by the crisis officer and recommendations for future management of risks to the department.

Crisis management has become a necessary precaution for the prevention of litigation and adverse public relations in any business. Athletics has big-business aspects, and the generation of revenue relies greatly on public perception and reputation. Preparation is the key to successfully managing a crisis.

It would behoove every college and university, from the large Division I-A public institution to the smaller Division III private school, to have that preparation in writing.

Christine Syme is the head associate of Rimrock Consulting Associates in Billings, Montana. She is a former university lecturer, coach and women's sports information director. She was a graduate student at Eastern Washington University when she conducted the research cited in the editorial. A complete abstract of the research can be found at www.rimrockassociates.com. Syme can be reached via e-mail at christinesyme@iwks.net.