Athletic Dept. releases draft NCAA recertification report

The University completed a major step Tuesday in its efforts toward recertification by the National Collegiate Athletic Association by releasing the first draft of a lengthy self-study report. Each NCAA Division I school must be recertified every five years in accordance with standards adopted in 1993. At the end of the 12- to 14-month process -- which examines each school's governance and compliance with NCAA rules, academic integrity, fiscal integrity and commitment to equity -- institutions can be either certified, not certified or conditionally certified pending suggested institutional changes. An NCAA peer review team will visit campus in April to evaluate the University's final report. And the NCAA will vote on recertification in July or October, according to Carolyn Claude, the NCAA's compliance representative for the University. University spokesperson Barbara Beck explained that the self-study provides an opportunity to detail the inner workings of the Athletic Department, as well as the interdependence between athletics and academics. "The goals of this process for Penn included really an in-depth and comprehensive study of the structure of Penn athletics programs," Beck said. She added that the report -- which was prepared by approximately 60 faculty members and administrators from all areas -- demonstrates the University's upper-echelon Ivy League credentials. "The University has always maintained high standards of excellence in its academic and athletic programs," Beck said. "I think that the NCAA athletic recertification process gives Penn a chance to affirm those high standards." The first section of the report gives an overview of all of the University's athletic programs. A chart shows the 14 high-level administrators responsible for compliance with NCAA rules -- led by University President Judith Rodin, who takes "ultimate responsibility and authority for the actual operation of the athletics program." Each of the report's four sections lists plans for improvement in that particular area. The fourth section, for example, contains several strategies to help achieve greater gender equity and minority representation in Penn's athletic programs. Carol Tracy, executive director of the Philadelphia-based Women's Law Project -- which settled an equity complaint with the University in August 1995 -- applauded one of the report's proposed efforts, a survey that would determine women's interests and abilities in athletics. "[The survey is] one of the Title IX tests to see if student interest is being accommodated," said Tracy, a former director of the Penn Women's Center. Title IX is the 1972 gender-equity law requiring universities that receive federal funding to provide male and female athletes with equal resources. During the 1995-96 school year, males represented 63 percent of Penn's student-athletes -- raising questions that the University might not be fully responsive to women's athletic interests. Beck stressed, however, that several of the gender-equity improvements will be completed by the NCAA's April visit to campus. "I think that [the Athletic Department] has demonstrated its commitment to being fair and equitable in terms of men's and women's support programs," Beck said. Claude, who also serves as the NCAA's compliance liaison for many other schools, said institutions often improve policies as the result of such intensive self-studies. "The good schools get a little better, [whereas] the schools that are having trouble can take some time to get a little better," she said.