NCAA Approves WSU Plan For Self Study

PULLMAN, Wash. — The National Collegiate Athletic Association has approved Washington State University’s self review of its own intercollegiate athletic programs.

WSU faculty member Rom Markin, chair of the NCAA Certification Self-Student Review Steering Committee, said Mira Colman, a NCAA membership services representative, met with the committee in December to discuss the plan drafted during the fall. Following the daylong workshop, she approved the university plan.

In a follow-up letter to WSU President Lane Rawlins, Colman said it was evident the steering committee and subcommittees are composed of knowledgeable and experienced individuals.

“Her assistance during the workshop also will help the committee and subcommittees complete a successful self-study for the second cycle of the NCAA athletics certification process,” Markin said.

The steering committee has reviewed the plans for improvement. Specific plans and efforts have been summarized.

“Policies and procedures have been or are being developed for the issues recognized by the committee and subcommittees as well as those prescribed by the NCAA,” Markin said. “The information developed will be edited during the spring and summer with a final draft due in the fall.”

A Web site has been developed with the committee plan and ongoing responses: www.ncaastudy.wsu.edu . The group also will be scheduling forums during the spring to discuss the study and solicit input, Markin added.

Last September WSU started an 18-month-long, campus-wide effort to review its athletics programs as part of the NCAA Division I Athletics Certification Program.

The certification is a routine procedure by the NCAA covering academic and fiscal integrity, governance, rules compliance, commitment to equity, student-athlete welfare and sportsmanship, said Markin. WSU’s first study began in 1995 and was completed in 1996. The next will take place in 10 years.

A committee composed of various members of the university faculty, staff, administration, athletics department and students are responsible for the study. The process increases awareness on campus about the athletic department’s goals and purposes. It also highlights areas to improve and examines how the athletic program relates to WSU’s mission and purpose.

When the committee finishes the study, an external team of reviewers will conduct a four-day evaluation visit on campus in February 2003. The team, composed of people from other universities, reports to the NCAA Division I Committee on Athletics Certification to determine the institution’s certification status.

Steering committee members include Markin; V. Lane Rawlins, WSU president; Doug Baker, vice provost for academic affairs; Deborah Carlson, associate budget director; Ken Casavant, faculty athletic representative and professor of agricultural economics; Tammy Crawford, head coach, rowing; William Cofer, professor of civil and environmental engineering; Conor Cook, Associated Students of WSU representative; Felicia Gaskins, associate vice provost for Human Relations and Diversity; Holly Harris, Student Athlete Advisory Committee representative; Bryan Hudson, Graduate and Professional Student Association representative; Charlene Jaeger, vice president for Student Affairs; John Kicza, associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and professor of history; Milton Lang, special assistant to the president; Keith Lincoln, executive director of the Lewis Alumni Centre; Nancy Magnuson, professor of molecular biosciences; Rueben Mayes, director of the Cougar Athletic Foundation; James Roche, director of Institutional Research; Marcia Saneholtz, senior associate athletic director; Eric Spangenberg, associate professor of marketing; and Jim Sterk, athletic director.

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