The NCAA Division I Committee on Athletics Certification announced that Elon University is one of 26 institutions to be fully certified as part of the NCAA’s regularly scheduled, ongoing athletics certification process.
A designation of certified means that an institution operates its athletics program in substantial conformity with operating principles adopted by the Division I membership. All 335 active Division I members participate in the athletics certification process.
“The NCAA certification process went excellently for Elon,” said Dr. Paul Parsons, dean of the School of Communications and chair of Elon’s NCAA review committee. “The NCAA found that athletics is clearly under institutional control, we follow NCAA rules closely and that we serve our student-athletes very well. The NCAA team expressed great admiration for the quality of the student-athlete experience at Elon.”
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; and gender/diversity issues and student-athlete well-being. Each member institution is to complete a self-study at least once every 10 years.
“This is great news for the university and for our athletics program,” commented Elon Director of Athletics Dave Blank. “We appreciate the support of President Leo Lambert and his chosen representatives for the outstanding job they did in the certification process. I want to especially thank Associate Athletics Director and Senior Woman Administrator Faith Shearer and Dean of the School of Communications Paul Parsons for heading up our certification efforts. Many thanks go out to the numerous individuals who contributed in making this process a success.”
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.
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; Robert Bernardi, Nicholls State University; Henry Brooks, University of Maryland, Eastern Shore; Ann Carr, Mississippi State University; 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; Amy Folan, University of Texas at Austin; Joanne Glasser (chair), Bradley University; Angela Johnson “A.J.” Grube, Western Carolina University; Barbara Luebke, University of Rhode Island; Sheila Patterson, Cleveland State University; William Perry, Eastern Illinois University; Judy Van Horn, University of South Carolina; and Sarah Wilhelmi, West Coast Conference.