March 9, 1998
Contact: John Chandler,
(818) 677-2130
j.chandler@exec.csun.edu
CSUN President Blenda J. Wilson recently began the formal review by appointing a steering committee and four subcommittees that will prepare a self-study of the campus' athletics program and how it complies with an array of NCAA requirements.
"I welcome the review as an opportunity to inform everyone regarding the full range of our athletic programs, to assure ourselves of their integrity, and to assess our goal of providing a quality program for student athletics," the president said.
Ultimately, the university expects to submit its self-study in April 1999, undergo a campus visit by an NCAA peer review team in May 1999, and later learn whether the NCAA has certified its athletic program, certified it with conditions or ruled it "not certified."
Ann Stutts, dean of CSUN's College of Health and Human Development, has been named chair of CSUN's NCAA Self Study Steering Committee. Jeanette Mann, special assistant to the president for equity and diversity, has been named the group's staff director.
"The self study gives us an opportunity to increase the understanding of individuals across the campus and throughout the community about our athletics program's goals and purposes, and the ways in which athletics supports the institution's overall mission," Stutts said.
Somewhat resembling an academic accreditation process, the NCAA's certification requirement is a relatively new one affecting all 308 Division I members. CSUN is among the final group of schools scheduled to begin the process under what began as a five-year NCAA cycle.
Through the process, CSUN and the NCAA will evaluate the adherence of the university and its athletic program to NCAA requirements in four broad areas: governance and commitment to rules compliance, academic integrity, fiscal integrity and commitment to equity.
CSUN will have to evaluate its athletic program based on 17 NCAA operating principles among the four broad categories, looking at issues such as admissions practices, graduation rates, financial aid, academic support, financial controls, and gender and minority issues.
The steering committee appointed by Wilson and chaired by Stutts has 21 members at present, including faculty, staff, students and alumni. Committee members also will serve on four subcommittees, one for each of the four broad NCAA categories.
Other committee members include Wilson, Athletic Director Paul Bubb, Associated Students Vice President Jon Hatemi, Faculty Athletic Representative Tom Shannon, and Katherine Noble, assistant commissioner of the Big Sky Conference, of which CSUN is a member.
Coincidentally, the new study comes in the wake of a months-long review of CSUN's athletics program by the university's own Task Force on Intercollegiate Athletics. That led Wilson recently to reiterate CSUN's commitment to a broad-based athletics program.
The university currently fields 20 teams, 10 men's and 10 women's, among the largest number offered by comparable institutions. On a $6.6 million annual athletics budget, CSUN's teams included more than 470 student-athlete participants as of 1996-97.
The self-study process is meant to be open and participatory to the entire campus community. A web site at www.csun.edu/~hfafr002/NCAA.html will provide continuing information about the process. The next steering committee meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday, March 30, in President's Conference Room A.
Institutions that fail to conduct a comprehensive self-study or to correct identified problems can face tough NCAA sanctions, potentially leading to ineligibility for NCAA championships and ultimately removal from active NCAA membership.
California State University Chancellor's Office Press Releases
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