MEDIA RELEASE
Cal State Northridge Launches Study of Its Athletics Program
(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., May 28, 2008) — California State University, Northridge has begun a year-long, campus-wide self study of its athletics program as part of the NCAA Division I athletics certification program.
Specifically, university officials will be looking at three areas: academic integrity, governance and commitment to rules compliance, and commitment to equity and student-athlete well-being. The process is similar to what is done for academic accreditation, but focuses solely on athletics. Cal State Northridge completed its first certification process in 2000.
"The athletics certification program’s purpose is to help ensure integrity in the institution’s athletic operations," said Northridge President Jolene Koester, a member of the self-study steering committee. "The program opens up athletics to the rest of the university community and to the public. It gives us an opportunity to take a close look at the needs of the university, the Athletics Department, our students and student athletes as well as those of the community. We welcome input from everyone."
CSUN Athletic Director Rick Mazzuto agreed.
"It’s important for an organization to periodically step back and assess its successes and areas for improvement," Mazzuto said. "The NCAA certification process facilitates that effort. We will have a great opportunity to inform the campus community and receive assessment from outside the department."
The self-study steering committee is being chaired by University Controller Robert Barker and includes Koester, Mazzuto and approximately 24 others who represent faculty, staff, students and members of the university’s Athletics Department as well as the community at large. There are also three subcommittees, one of each of the areas to be reviewed. Together the four committees total about 45 people representing a broad range of campus and community constituencies.
A member of the NCAA membership services staff conducted a one-day orientation video conference with members of the committees earlier this month to provide them with initial guidance for doing the self study.
Barker said the athletics program will be measured against a series of standards, called operating principles, which were adopted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to establish benchmarks by which all Division I members are evaluated.
Members of the public as well as the campus community will be invited to provide input to self study later this year.
The steering committee’s initial findings will be posted on a special Web site in December for review and comment. The final report will be submitted to the NCAA in January of 2009.
An external team of reviewers from peer universities and conference offices will then conduct a minimum two-day campus visit. The peer-review team will report to the NCAA Division I Committee on Athletic Certification, which will determine the institution’s certification status and announce a decision—certified, certified with condition or not certified. For institutions that fail to conduct a comprehensive self study or to correct problems, sanctions can be imposed, including ineligibility for NCAA championships.
The NCAA is a membership organization of colleges and universities that participate in intercollegiate athletics. Its primary purpose is to maintain intercollegiate athletics as an integral part of the educational program and the athlete as an integral part of the student body. NCAA members formulate rules of play for NCAA sports, conducting national championships, adopting and enforcing standards of eligibility and studying all phases of intercollegiate athletics.