The NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee finalized a legislative proposal that would hold the membership accountable for following institutional and organizational hiring policies.

The committee, meeting June 17-18 in Phoenix, approved language for proposed Association-wide legislation that would require every NCAA member to annually submit to the MOIC documentation signed by the president and athletics director verifying that all athletics department hires were made in compliance with institutional employment policies and practices. The MOIC believes the legislation would hold athletics departments accountable for promoting the fundamental values of fairness, diversity and equality within the hiring process.

If passed, the legislation would become effective September 1, 2009.

The MOIC in January gave advance notice that it intended to seek such legislation since committee members thought the matter might be controversial, but Rudy Keeling, MOIC chair and commissioner of the Eastern College Athletic Conference, said there hasn’t been much reaction so far.

“I don’t think a lot people have heard about what we’re trying to do or don’t understand the ramifications of this proposed legislation,” said Keeling, left. “All we’re asking is that they use their own hiring practices to hire administrators. That will be easy for some. I do think we’ll get some resistance (once the proposal enters the legislative cycle) because some people have taken short cuts rather than doing things the way things should be done.”

Noncompliance could come at a high cost. The legislation would make fulfilling MOIC’s request a condition and obligation for membership in all three NCAA divisions. Keeling also pointed out that with federal and state laws already in place to ensure fair hiring practices, schools that do not follow their own hiring policies could, in extreme cases, face scrutiny from state and federal governments and potentially lose crucial financial aid dollars.

In addition to finalizing the hiring proposal, the MOIC also completed a successful collaboration with the national office diversity and inclusion staff and the Division III Membership Committee on enhancing diversity the components of that division’s Institutional Self-Study Guide.

The membership committee agreed to increase the diversity-related language in Section VI (Employment of Athletics Program Personnel) of the Division III ISSG. The revised version of the instrument includes a question about whether the hiring and employment policies were followed for athletics hires and requests documentation supporting compliance with those policies. It also asks whether someone outside of the athletics department who is knowledgeable about the institution’s hiring policies reviewed that section of the report and requests that person’s signature.

The modifications fulfill recommendations made in 2006 by the NCAA Diversity Leadership Strategic Planning Committee. Keeling called the upgrades an important step in the right direction.

“Having the diversity piece within it adds to its credibility and to the school’s credibility that the chief officer signs off on it,” he said.

The MOIC hopes similar enhancements can be made to the Division II ISSG.

The MOIC also tackled a critical student-athlete well-being issue when it heard a presentation from representatives of Close the Gap, an initiative aimed at raising awareness about heart disease and emphasizing the disparities in cardiovascular care for women, African-Americans and Latino Americans compared to majority group members.

A central portion of the presentation focused on sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). The condition, which occurs due to an electrical problem in the heart, is the leading cause of death among young athletes. Most victims are male, more than half are African-American athletes and more than two-thirds who die suddenly are football and basketball players.  

Presenters stressed that proper screening can detect at-risk student-athletes. Calling the issue one of the most important topics to come before the committee, Keeling pledged the group’s support in attacking the problem.

“It was surprising when you heard the statistics that, for instance, athletes were more susceptible to SCA than nonathletes and that African-American males and females were more susceptible than their white counterparts,” said Keeling. “This issue falls well within MOIC’s charge, and the committee is going to embrace doing whatever it can to see that word gets out. We are going to follow through with this.”

In other actions, the MOIC voted to limit participation in the NCAA Fellows program to administrators at NCAA member institutions and conferences. The committee also modified the initiative’s criteria to reflect the revised eligibility standards. With the change, participation in the Fellows program is limited to any racial/ethnic minority or female athletics administrator employed at an NCAA member institution or conference office.