PRESIDENTIAL TASK FORCE

Group prepares to consider issues of financial integrity

A new Presidential Task Force on the Future of Intercollegiate Athletics will focus on fiscal responsibility, among other issues, during the next 18 to 24 months.

Peter Likins, president of the University of Arizona, will chair the task force, which is similar in its role to a presidential group that studied and made recommendations leading to the academic reform package approved by the Division I Board of Directors last April.

The task force, whose membership has not yet been finalized, will include more than two dozen college and university presidents and chancellors and two or three individuals representing university govening boards.

The group is formally charged with exploring the alignment of intercollegiate athletics with the mission, values and goals of higher education in such areas as fiscal responsibility, commercialism, organizational structure and transparency of athletics operations.

In announcing the task force's formation, NCAA President Myles Brand emphasized that this is not a cost-containment effort or a warning to institutions to stop growing athletics programs.

"Rather," he said, "it is an argument to moderate the rate of growth to what the revenue supports."

LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

New program to develop ethnic minority women

Applications currently are being accepted for the newly established NCAA Leadership Institute for Ethnic Minority Females. The 12-month leadership training and skills development program is designed for athletics administrators at NCAA member institutions and conferences.

The institute seeks to enhance job related competencies through four weekend-long sessions focusing on leadership and administration; human resource management; finance and fund-raising; and booster, public and media relations. Participants also will be expected to complete a week-long intensive workshop.

Enrollment for the institute, which will be held at the NCAA national office in Indianapolis, is limited to 25 participants. All program materials and meals will be provided at no cost to participants.

Upon completion of the institute, participants are eligible to apply for a $2,000 scholarship to defray costs incurred during the 12-month institute period. Participants selected from Division III institutions or conference offices are also eligible to receive from the Division III initiatives program a $1,000 scholarship payable upon selection.

The application deadline is April 15. For additional information and application materials, go to www.ncaa.org, click on academics and athletes, and select the leadership and diversity link.

STAFF CONTACT: Arthur J. Hightower II (ahightower@ncaa.org)

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