National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2007
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The NCAA News
Philip Austin, president at the University of Connecticut and chair of the Division I Board of Directors, discusses Division I issues for 2007:
Q
Division I has spent the last year fine-tuning its academic-reform package. For much of the year, different groups within the Division I governance structure spent time designing and implementing an appropriate penalty structure within the Academic Performance Program. How do you think the system is affecting not only actual academic progress of student-athletes, but also the public’s perception of academic reform in collegiate athletics?A
NCAA member institutions and specifically the coaches are more aware of the importance of the academic performance of our student-athletes. There is a greater emphasis on student-athletes meeting initial-eligibility requirements and progress-toward-degree regulations. Not only is the coach’s performance in the athletics arena being judged, now the academic success of each student-athlete is being held to the same standard by the public. All sports, including those not as widely publicized in the past, are being held to these standards.The public is becoming increasingly aware of the new NCAA program, but there is still some confusion as to what the results represent. When we have the first set of quadrennial results, trends and norms should be easier to understand.
Q
The student-athlete well-being section of the report from the Presidential Task Force on the Future of Division I Intercollegiate Athletics has been overlooked by many constituents, yet student-athlete well-being is the core of the NCAA mission. How do we gain momentum for some of the ideas put forth in the report that are designed to keep the student-athlete at the center of the collegiate model?A
A further enhancement of this process would be to find additional methods to educate constituent groups on the important concepts presented by the Presidential Task Force. We want the hard work that has gone into this report to lead to positive results. Proper use of the media to help disseminate information about these issues over a period of time rather than in one multipage report would be beneficial. The format of the report may be too overwhelming for the public to digest.Q
What do you believe the primary role of the Board of Directors is in Division I?A
To provide oversight of collegiate athletics and to ensure that academic integrity and student-athlete well-being at all levels are maintained.Q
What are the top two or three issues facing Division I right now? Why?A
One, institutions need to continue their focus on ethnic and gender diversity in administrative and coaching positions.Two, technology used in recruiting is getting out of hand and placing additional burdens on prospective student-athletes and coaches.
Three, the arms race with coaches’ salaries, operational expenses and facilities continue to be of concern in the economic well-being of athletics programs and presents significant perceptual problems in terms of colleges’ and universities’ dealings with the public.
Four, the NCAA legislative process has lost the involvement of too many campus constituents in its present format. We need to peel back the layers and return to the basics of when legislation is thoroughly vetted and discussed before voting at the annual NCAA Convention.
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