University of Toledo Successfully Completes NCAA Athletics Recertification Process
5/1/2008 4:00:00 AM | Administration
NCAA News Release Announcing Certification Decisions
TOLEDO, OH - The NCAA Division I Committee on Athletics Certification recently announced that the University of Toledo has been formally certified without conditions following the successful review of an extensive, university-wide self-study.
The purpose of athletics certification is to ensure integrity in the institution's athletics program and to assist institutions in improving their athletics departments. NCAA legislation mandating athletics certification was adopted in 1993. The certification process, which involves a self-study led by an institution's president or chancellor, includes a review of these primary components: governance and commitment to rules compliance; academic integrity; equity; and student-athlete well-being.
"I'm delighted our athletics department has earned full certification from the NCAA," UT President Lloyd Jacobs said. "Intercollegiate athletics have been an enduring part of the University of Toledo, and this certification is great news for the university community and our alumni. The certification, which was awarded without any conditions or qualifications, reaffirms that the Athletic Department has in place outstanding programs and policies that benefit and support our student-athletes both on the playing field and in the classroom as well. I want to thank the staff and faculty members who worked extremely hard during the campus-wide self-study process and last fall's site visit. It was truly a team effort."
Said UT Athletic Director Mike O'Brien, "I am extremely pleased that our athletics program has been certified by the NCAA. The result of our successful self-study verified that UT athletics meets or exceeds all applicable NCAA standards for Division I athletics. While the certification review process was certainly intensive and comprehensive, it provided a wonderful opportunity to review our principle operating procedures and ensure the integrity of our mission within the broader framework of the university."
All 326 active Division I members participate in the certification process. The Division I Committee on Athletics Certification preliminarily reviews an institution's certification materials and provides a list of issues identified during the evaluation. The university then hosts a visit by peer reviewers who file a report regarding the institution's resolution of those issues before a final certification decision is rendered. An institution's failure to satisfactorily respond to the committee may negatively impact certification status. UT completed its first self-study and was fully certified in 1999. The university submitted a five-year interim status report in 2003, as well.
A four-member peer-review team selected by the NCAA Division I Committee on Athletics Certification (CAC) visited the UT campus on Sept. 23-25 to evaluate the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics as part of a self-study report submitted by the University to the NCAA last May.
Peer-review team members included Dr. James F. Cofer, president of the University of Louisiana at Monroe who was chair; Dr. Dennis Wilson, an Auburn University professor; Etienne Thomas, assistant athletic director for compliance at San Jose State University in California; and Charnele Kemper, an National Collegiate Athletic Association liaison.
UT last May submitted a 131-page self-study report that covered academic integrity, governance and commitment to rules compliance, and commitment to equity and student-athlete well-being. Each area was studied by a committee using standards, called operating principles, which were adopted by the NCAA as a way to measure all Division I members.
During their visit, team members interviewed UT President Lloyd Jacobs, Athletics Department administrators and coaches, faculty members, student-athletes and members of the Athletics Committee, Board of Trustees and Steering Committee members.
Lawrence J. Burns, vice president for enrollment services, marketing and communications, was appointed by UT President Lloyd Jacobs to chair the University's NCAA Self-Study Steering Committee in 2006.
The steering committee's three subcommittees and their chairs were: governance and commitment to rules compliance, Jane Roman, Toledo attorney, UT alumna, former student-athlete in women's basketball and member of the Varsity ?T' Hall of Fame; academic integrity, Dr. Nagi Naganathan, dean and professor of the College of Engineering; and equity and student-athlete welfare, Dr. Kaye Patten Wallace, vice president for student affairs.
President Jacobs, Burns, and the subcommittee chairs were members of the steering committee. Other steering committee members were Kelly E. Andrews, associate athletic director and senior woman administrator; Alfred A. Baker, former member of the UT Board of Trustees, UT alumnus, former student-athlete in football and a member of the Varsity ?T' Hall of Fame; Dr. Kristopher Brickman, associate professor of surgery and medical director of the UT Medical Center Emergency Department; Tyler Hotchkiss, law student; James Klein, professor of law and former NCAA faculty athletics representative; Kevin Kucera, associate vice president for enrollment services; Dr. William E. McMillen, vice president for government relations and chief of staff; Michael O'Brien, director of intercollegiate athletes; Dan Saevig, associate vice president for alumni relations; Dr. Alice Skeens, associate professor of psychology and current faculty athletics representative; and Kim Kester, a member of the women's golf team and president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
"We had a diverse, committed committee consisting of student-athletes, senior administrators, faculty members and alumni," said Burns. "I would like to sincerely thank them for all of their efforts."
Jim Winkler, UT communication manager, was chief report writer/editor of the self-study report.
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