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NCAA News Archive - 2007
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New proposals target consistency in enforcement
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By Gary T. Brown
The NCAA News
The NCAA News
The NCAA Executive Committee has paved the way for more consistency in the Association’s enforcement and infractions hearing procedures by instructing NCAA President Myles Brand to move several proposals into each of the three divisions’ legislative cycles.
Many of the proposals simply codify current procedures regarding the Committee on Infractions and the Infractions Appeals Committee, but some are more expansive, such as precluding an institution or individual from appearing in person before an infractions appeals committee if the school or person did not appear before the infractions committee. Other provisions would preclude a penalty from the infractions committee from being overturned by the appellate group unless the appealing party can prove the penalty was excessive enough to have it constituted an abuse of discretion.
“The proposals are designed to add consistency to the procedural relationship between the infractions and appeals committees,” said Bernard Franklin, NCAA senior vice president for governance and membership.
The Executive Committee supported moving the proposals into the legislative cycle at its April 26 meeting in Indianapolis. Though the Executive Committee does not have the authority to propose legislation, it did give that authority to the NCAA president several years ago.
The proposals:
Each division will act on the proposals separately. Because the timing of the cycles vary among divisions, one division may act on the procedures sooner than another.
In other action at the Executive Committee meeting, members endorsed the concept of a “Collegiate Sports” limited liability corporation, which would serve as an umbrella LLC for the NCAA’s existing LLCs (the NIT and the Eligibility Center) and any other Association LLCs formed in the future.
The Executive Committee chair and the chairs of the three division presidential bodies, along with the NCAA president, would serve as “owner representatives” of the umbrella LLC and would select a board of managers. The Executive Committee would retain oversight of all LLCs, while the governance structure would continue to be responsible for legislation and strategic direction related to their operation.
The Executive Committee also heard a presentation from Gary Cunningham, athletics director at the University of California, Santa Barbara, regarding the World University Games. Cunningham is the current president of the U.S. International University Sports Federation, which owns the Games.
Executive Committee members approved Cunningham’s request for permission to submit a budget proposal for the 2008-10 biennium to help support the Games. The allocation would be structured as a matching-grant system to supplement funds from various sports’ national governing bodies.
University of Georgia President Mike Adams has been elected to chair the NCAA Executive Committee, effective immediately. Adams, who has been a member of the Executive Committee since 2005, will serve a two-year term as chair.
Adams succeeds University of Hartford President Walter Harrison, whose term on the Executive Committee expired at the end of the April 26 meeting.
Adams is no stranger to intercollegiate athletics issues, given his current membership on the Division I Board of Directors and on the Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. He also recently completed a two-year term as president of the Southeastern Conference. As a member of the Executive Committee, Adams chaired that group’s budget committee.
Adams was named Georgia’s 21st president in June 1997. Under his leadership, Georgia has been recognized among the nation’s best public research universities for eight consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report.
He recently completed a term as chair of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. Adams is the only person to have served as chair of both the American Council on Education and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. He also has been chair of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the accrediting body for higher education in the southern United States.
Adams holds a bachelor’s degree in speech and history from David Lipscomb College, and he earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in political communications from Ohio State University. He holds an academic appointment as a professor of speech communication at Georgia.
He began his professional career on the communication faculty at Ohio State, later serving as vice president for university affairs at Pepperdine University. He was president of Division III Centre College for nine years before coming to Georgia. He also served as chief of staff for Sen. Howard Baker and as an aide to Gov. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee.
Many of the proposals simply codify current procedures regarding the Committee on Infractions and the Infractions Appeals Committee, but some are more expansive, such as precluding an institution or individual from appearing in person before an infractions appeals committee if the school or person did not appear before the infractions committee. Other provisions would preclude a penalty from the infractions committee from being overturned by the appellate group unless the appealing party can prove the penalty was excessive enough to have it constituted an abuse of discretion.
“The proposals are designed to add consistency to the procedural relationship between the infractions and appeals committees,” said Bernard Franklin, NCAA senior vice president for governance and membership.
The Executive Committee supported moving the proposals into the legislative cycle at its April 26 meeting in Indianapolis. Though the Executive Committee does not have the authority to propose legislation, it did give that authority to the NCAA president several years ago.
The proposals:
- Codify the practical application of the current “duty of confidentiality” clause by clarifying that confidentiality extends to institutions and involved individuals subject to NCAA rules through the duration of an infractions case.
- Clarify that if the involved institution or any person involved in an infractions case make information concerning that case public, the involved institution, person or NCAA staff may confirm, correct or deny that information.
- Establish the use of a Web-based custodial file system and limit the additions to the file under specified circumstances.
- Allow the NCAA enforcement staff and involved institutions and individuals to expedite the deadline for responding to the notice of allegation.
- Provide for the chair of the Committee on Infractions to resolve procedural matters that arise before an infractions hearing.
- Clarify procedures related to the notification of appeal and the provision of the infractions report to the appellate committees.
- Preclude an institution or individual from appearing in person before the Infractions Appeals Committee if the school or person did not appear before the Committee on Infractions.
- Preclude a penalty from the infractions committee from being overturned by the appellate group unless the appealing party can prove the penalty was excessive to the degree that it constituted an abuse of discretion.
- Afford the enforcement staff the opportunity to provide, in writing and during the appeal’s hearing, information related to perceived new evidence, errors, misstatements and omissions.
- Charge the Infractions Appeals Committee with making determinations regarding new evidence on the record during the hearing.
- Clarify enforcement staff and non-appealing-party attendance policies at an infractions hearing.
Each division will act on the proposals separately. Because the timing of the cycles vary among divisions, one division may act on the procedures sooner than another.
In other action at the Executive Committee meeting, members endorsed the concept of a “Collegiate Sports” limited liability corporation, which would serve as an umbrella LLC for the NCAA’s existing LLCs (the NIT and the Eligibility Center) and any other Association LLCs formed in the future.
The Executive Committee chair and the chairs of the three division presidential bodies, along with the NCAA president, would serve as “owner representatives” of the umbrella LLC and would select a board of managers. The Executive Committee would retain oversight of all LLCs, while the governance structure would continue to be responsible for legislation and strategic direction related to their operation.
The Executive Committee also heard a presentation from Gary Cunningham, athletics director at the University of California, Santa Barbara, regarding the World University Games. Cunningham is the current president of the U.S. International University Sports Federation, which owns the Games.
Executive Committee members approved Cunningham’s request for permission to submit a budget proposal for the 2008-10 biennium to help support the Games. The allocation would be structured as a matching-grant system to supplement funds from various sports’ national governing bodies.
Adams named to take committee reins
University of Georgia President Mike Adams has been elected to chair the NCAA Executive Committee, effective immediately. Adams, who has been a member of the Executive Committee since 2005, will serve a two-year term as chair.Adams succeeds University of Hartford President Walter Harrison, whose term on the Executive Committee expired at the end of the April 26 meeting.
Adams is no stranger to intercollegiate athletics issues, given his current membership on the Division I Board of Directors and on the Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. He also recently completed a two-year term as president of the Southeastern Conference. As a member of the Executive Committee, Adams chaired that group’s budget committee.
Adams was named Georgia’s 21st president in June 1997. Under his leadership, Georgia has been recognized among the nation’s best public research universities for eight consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report.
He recently completed a term as chair of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. Adams is the only person to have served as chair of both the American Council on Education and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. He also has been chair of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the accrediting body for higher education in the southern United States.
Adams holds a bachelor’s degree in speech and history from David Lipscomb College, and he earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in political communications from Ohio State University. He holds an academic appointment as a professor of speech communication at Georgia.
He began his professional career on the communication faculty at Ohio State, later serving as vice president for university affairs at Pepperdine University. He was president of Division III Centre College for nine years before coming to Georgia. He also served as chief of staff for Sen. Howard Baker and as an aide to Gov. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee.
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