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The NCAA Division I Committee on Athletics Certification announced decisions today concerning the status of three member institutions in the division’s athletics certification process. A certified designation denotes that an institution operates its athletics program in compliance with operating principles adopted by the Division I membership.

This cycle represents the last certifications started before a moratorium was placed on the program in April 2011 by the Division I Board of Directors. In January 2011, NCAA President Emmert asked staff to evaluate the program to reduce the burden on institutions, increase cost-effectiveness and improve the overall value.

Legislation mandating certification was adopted for all active Division I schools in 1993 to ensure the integrity of each member institution’s athletics program, while assisting institutions with improvements when necessary.

In order to complete the certification process before the moratorium, the institution finished a self-study led by an institution’s president or chancellor. In addition, institutions completed a review of these primary components: governance and commitment to rules compliance; academic integrity; gender/diversity issues and student-athlete well-being. Each member institution completed a self-study at least once every 10 years.

The following three institutions were certified:

• Ball State University;
• North Carolina A&T State University; and
• Southern University, Baton Rouge.

The Division I Committee on Athletics Certification preliminarily reviews an institution’s self-study report and identifies areas of concern. Then, the university or college resolves the identified issues before a final certification decision is rendered. An institution’s failure to satisfactorily respond to the committee may negatively impact certification status.

The certification process is separate from the NCAA’s enforcement program, which investigates allegations of rules violations by NCAA member institutions. A decision of certified does not exempt an institution from concurrent or subsequent enforcement proceedings.

The NCAA Committee on Infractions may ask the Committee on Athletics Certification to review an institution’s certification status as a result of a completed infractions case.

The members of the Committee on Athletics Certification are: Anthony Archbald, Princeton University; John Balog, Jacksonville University; Henry Brooks, University of Maryland, Eastern Shore; Roger Caves, San Diego State University; Casey Comoroski, Missouri State University; Beth DeBauche, Ohio Valley Conference; Tom Douple, The Summit League; John M. Dunn, Western Michigan University; Tracey Flynn, Quinnipiac University; Amy Folan, University of Texas at Austin; Joanne Glasser (chair), Bradley University; Angela Johnson “A.J.” Grube, Western Carolina University; Nina King, Duke University; Gary Overton, East Carolina University; William Perry, Eastern Illinois University; Judy Van Horn, University of South Carolina; Fred Washington, Prairie View A&M University; and Sarah Wilhelmi, West Coast Conference.