Listen to the COIA press conference on Jan. 7 (.wav or .mp3).
Download high-resolution photos of Virginia Shepherd and Robert Eno.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ñ Three recommendations for NCAA bylaw changes and
scores of guidelines to improve the academic integrity of college
athletics programs were debated when the Coalition on Intercollegiate
Athletics met at Vanderbilt University on Jan. 6-7.
Representatives from 26 Division IA colleges and universities refined a
21-page document, which they will take back to their institutions for
approval. A formal vote is scheduled for the end of February.
“We have no time limit on these provisions,” said COIA steering
committee member Robert Eno, associate professor of East Asian
languages and cultures at Indiana University. “If we can get real
changes done in a decade, we will have accomplished what we wanted.” 
The proposed recommendations address five areas: admissions,
scholarships, curricular integrity, scheduling of competitions and
academic advising. The full document will be posted at the COIA Web
site, http://www.math.umd.edu/~jmc/COIA/.
“The object is not to prescribe what schools must do, but to suggest
issues that schools need to consider and approaches that may with
adaptation fit local needs and strengthen the way athletics supports
the education mission,” COIA members say in the introduction to their
recommendations.
COIA members suggested that the NCAA adopt bylaws ensuring that the
final authority for revoking athletic scholarships rests with the chief
academic officer at all institutions, that aggregate data be collected
on each sports team of players‘ academic performance, and to attempt to
curb the trend of ever-increasing season length.
Most of the suggestions are “best practice” advice to guide officials
working toward ensuring the academic integrity of athletic programs.
Some of the suggestions approved at the meeting:
- Maintaining a record of eligibility and graduation rates of
players under each coach, and making that information part of each
coach‘s public record. - Never permitting cancellation of campus-wide classes because of an athletic event.
- Never scheduling competition during final exams periods on a campus, with conferences developing schedules to accommodate.
- Ensuring that primary control over academic advising be with the chief academic officer of the campus.
- Forbidding coaches to initiate contact with instructors about the academic progress of an individual student.
- Charging each institution with formulating a policy to govern
those instances in which coaches teach athletes credit courses, and
procedures to monitor such situations if allowed.
Twenty-six of 44 COIA-member schools attended the conference. New
Mexico State and Auburn came as observers but were voted voting rights
during the event. Other schools attending were Alabama, Arkansas,
Colorado, Connecticut, Duke, Georgia, Hawaii, Houston, Indiana,
Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska,
Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Penn State, South
Carolina, Texas Christian University, Tennessee, Texas, Vanderbilt,
Wake Forest and Washington State.
“We have a lot of momentum,” said COIA steering committee member
Virginia Shepherd, professor of pathology and medicine at Vanderbilt
University Medical Center. “We have built up a significant presence in
the arena of athletic reform.”
With Vanderbilt‘s 2003 restructuring of its Division of Student Life to
include athletics, the university has established itself as a leader in
academic reform in athletics. Chancellor Gordon Gee and Vice Chancellor
for Student Life and University Affairs David Williams have been
outspoken proponents of preserving academic integrity in university
athletics, and Williams testified before a congressional subcommittee
last March looking into the need for NCAA reform.
Media contact: Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu