University of Delaware
Office of Public Relations
UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 32, May 22

       University athletics program certified by NCAA committee
     
     The University of Delaware athletic program has been
certified by the National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) Committee on Athletics Certification, according to a
May 15 announcement made by the NCAA. Fifteen other Division
I member institutions also were certified and one was
certified with conditions.
     A designation of certified means that an institution
has shown that it operates its athletics program in
substantial conformity with operating principles adopted by
the Division I membership.
     "We're pleased with the certification," Athletic
Director Edgar Johnson said, "although we're certainly not
surprised. It is what we expected, since we have a good,
well-run program that places the student-athlete at the
center."
     In its summary report to UD, the committee said, in
part, "the institution should be commended in particular for
its plans for addressing gender-equity and minority-
opportunities in the intercollegiate athletics program."
     The NCAA certification program is designed to ensure
integrity in the institution's athletics operations and to
assist athletics departments in improving their programs.
Legislation mandating athletics certification was adopted by
a vote of all Division I members at the 1993 NCAA
Convention, as a key part of the organization's reform
agenda.
     The certification process, which included an intensive
self-study and a visit by a peer review team, lasted some 18
months.
     The University's self-study steering committee was
formed in June 1995 and included 31 members, drawn from the
University's faculty, staff, students and Board of Trustees.
Four subcommittees were formed to look at specific areas of
operation: governance of the athletics program and its
commitment to rules' compliance; the program's fiscal
integrity; academic integrity; and the program's commitment
to equity.
     When the self-study was complete, an open hearing was
held in May 1996 on the campus to solicit additional input
before it was submitted to the NCAA.
     "The self-study was a good experience for the
University," Johnson said. "It opened up the athletics
department to the faculty and allowed them to see how it
operates."
     Last October, the peer review team visited the campus,
interviewed members of the faculty, athletics administration
and staff and student-athletes, to verify information
submitted by the University in its self-study report. The
visiting committee included chairperson Hanley Funderburk,
president of Eastern Kentucky University; Chuck Burch,
director of athletics, Liberty University; Phillip Dane,
vice chancellor for business and finance, University of
Tennessee-Martin; M. Louis Phillips, registrar, Southwest
Texas State University; Carl Ullrich, director of athletics,
St. Andrew's Presbyterian College; and Richard Thomas, NCAA
staff liaison.
     All 307 Division I members will undergo the
certification process within five years. So far, 129
institutions have received certification status decisions.
In addition to the designation of "certified," an
institution may receive a designation of "certified with
conditions," which means that serious problems were
identified that must be resolved, or a designation of "not
certified," which means that the institution is not
operating in substantial conformity with the Division I
operating principles.
     The UD's athletic program includes 22 intercollegiate
sports, 11 for men and 11 for women.