SECTION 5.5: INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS

CONTENTS: SECTION 5.5

INTRODUCTION
FINDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE ON INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS
5.5.1 PURPOSE
RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS: SECTION 5.5.1
5.5.2 ADMINISTRATIVE OVERSIGHT
RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS: SECTION 5.5.2
5.5.3 FINANCIAL CONTROL
RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS: SECTION 5.5.3
5.5.4 ACADEMIC PROGRAM.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS: SECTION 5.5.43
COMPLIANCE TABLES: SECTIONS 5.5.1—5.5.4
SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS: SECTIONS 5.5.1—5.5.4

INTRODUCTION

Sam Houston State University, a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association since 1982, joined the Southland Conference in 1987. The University ranks in Division I for all sports except football, which ranks in Division I-AA. The seven intercollegiate varsity sports for men are baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, golf, indoor track, and outdoor track and field; the eight varsity sports for women are basketball, cross-country, golf, indoor track, softball, tennis, outdoor track and field, and volleyball.

In 1997-98, 274 men and 123 women participated in the aforementioned sports. A total of 150 men and 82 women received athletic aid. Sixty-five players earned a GPA of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) in the spring semester of 1998, and eleven players earned a GPA of at least 3.5 during that semester. As demonstrated in Self-Study Item 9 of the NCAA Report on Academic Integrity (q.v.), the six-year graduation rate of student-athletes is consistently higher than that for all students combined.

Intercollegiate athletics play a significant role at Sam Houston State University. In recognition of that fact, the Department of Athletics is an integral part of the administrative hierarchy of the University, with the Director of Athletics reporting to the Vice President for Student Services. Like every other University unit, the department fully participates in the institution’s strategic planning and evaluation processes.

Observing SACS and NCAA guidelines (COC document Joint Self-Studies and Site Visits Involving the Commission on Colleges and the National Collegiate Athletics Association and Appendix A of the 1997-98 NCAA Division I Athletics Certification Handbook), Sam Houston has conducted a joint self-study and has prepared separate SACS and NCAA institutional self-study reports.

FINDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE ON INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS

The following sections report the Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics’ findings in the major areas outlined in Section 5.5 of the SACS Criteria for Accreditation: Purpose (5.5.1), Administrative Oversight (5.5.2), Financial Control (5.5.3), and Academic Program (5.5.4). The Committee addresses "must" statements from each of the sections and, in the order in which the statements appear in the Criteria, reports on the University’s compliance or noncompliance with these imperatives. Following each series of "must" statements and findings, the Committee makes recommendations and/or offers suggestions, according to the University’s compliance status.

5.5.1 PURPOSE

1. The intercollegiate athletics program must be operated in strict adherence to a written statement of goals and objectives which has been developed by the administration, in consultation with the athletic director, with appropriate input from the faculty, and which has been given official institutional approval (Criteria 64).

2. This statement must be in harmony with, and supportive of, the institutional purpose and should include explicit reference to the academic success, physical and emotional well-being, and social development of student athletes (Criteria 64).

The Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics determined that the University complies fully with the first of these two criteria and only partially with the second.

In 1994, the Director of Athletics, the Assistant Director of Athletics, and the

University's Title IX Coordinator jointly wrote and submitted to the University's Office of Institutional Research (OIR) a Statement of Mission and Goals for SHSU's Department of Athletics. These goals became the standards for measuring the department's successes and failures. Periodic reviews of the department's progress have been prepared by the Department of Athletics, approved by the Director of Athletics, and forwarded to the Office of Institutional Research. In 1995, 1996, and 1997, the OIR received Department of Athletics Assessment Reports, which detail areas of departmental strength and weakness. The target date for completion of the 1998 Report is December 1998.

In addition to the mission and goals statement, in 1991 a compliance committee began the process of preparing an Athletics Policies and Procedures Manual. The policies approved by the Director of Athletics were distributed to all head coaches, assistant coaches, and staff at compliance education meetings. In the fall of 1997, the NCAA Self-Study Governance and Commitment to Rules Compliance Subcommittee began work with the Interim Director of Athletics to produce an updated and enhanced Athletics Policies and Procedures Manual. At this time, minor revisions were made in the Department of Athletics mission statement so that it would fully comply with NCAA operating principles.

Item 2 of the Report on Governance and Commitment to Rules Compliance in the NCAA Institutional Self-Study explains how the mission of the Department of Athletics relates to that of the institution as a whole. Item 3 describes the process followed and the role of various participants in the development of the mission of the Department of Athletics. Item 4 of that report describes the mechanisms by which University faculty provide input into the operation of the Department of Athletics.

The role and mission statement of the Department of Athletics harmonizes with and supports the institutional purpose, and it includes explicit references to the academic success, physical well-being, and social development of student-athletes. The statement does not, however, address the emotional well-being of student-athletes, as the SACS criterion requires.

3. The intercollegiate athletics program must be evaluated regularly and systematically to ensure that it is an integral part of the education of athletes and is in keeping with the educational purpose of the institution (Criteria 64).

4. Evaluation of the athletics program must be undertaken as part of the self-study conducted in connection with initial accreditation or reaffirmation of accreditation (Criteria 64).

The Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics determined that the University complies fully with both criteria.

SHSU's Department of Athletics was evaluated as part of the 1997-98 Institutional Self-Study for NCAA certification. Henceforth, the program will be formally evaluated every ten years as part of the certification review process, to ensure that it is an integral part of the education of athletes and that its activities are in keeping with the educational purpose of the institution. In addition, the Department of Athletics submits a yearly report detailing its strengths and weaknesses to the Office of Institutional Research. This progress report results in a significant formal annual review.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS: SECTION 5.5.1

5.5.2 ADMINISTRATIVE OVERSIGHT

1. The administration must control the athletics program and contribute to its direction with appropriate participation by faculty and students and oversight by the governing board (Criteria 65).

2. Ultimate responsibility for that control must rest with the chief executive officer (Criteria 65).

3. It is essential that responsibilities for conduct of the athletics program and for its oversight be explicitly defined and clearly understood by those involved (Criteria 65).

The Committee found that the University complies fully with all three imperatives.

As discussed in the "Evaluation and Plan for Improvement" section of the NCAA Institutional Self-Study Report on Governance and Commitment to Rules Compliance, Sam Houston State University conforms substantially with Operating Principle 2: Institutional Control; with Operating Principle 3: Presidential Authority, Governing Board; and with Operating Principle 4: Shared Responsibilities. Self-Study items 4, 5 and 6 of that report provide supporting information.

Ultimate responsibility for control of athletics rests with the University president, and various constituencies of the University have significant input into the polices and conduct of the program. Both the Athletics Policies and Procedures Manual and the Report on Governance and Commitment to Rules Compliance demonstrate that responsibilities for the conduct and oversight of the Department of Athletics are explicitly defined and that those responsibilities are understood by those involved.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS: SECTION 5.5.2

1. All fiscal matters pertaining to the athletics program must be controlled by the administration, with ultimate responsibility resting with the chief executive officer (Criteria 65).

2. If external units (alumni organizations or foundations) raise or expend funds for athletic purposes, all such financial activities must be approved by the administration, and all such units shall be required to submit independent audits (Criteria 65).

3. The administration of scholarships, grants-in-aid, loans, and student employment must be included in the institution’s regular planning, budgeting, accounting and auditing procedures (Criteria 65).

4. All income, from whatever source, and expenditures for the athletics program must have appropriate oversight by an office of the institution that is independent of the athletics program (Criteria 65).

5. All such income and expenditures must also be appropriately audited (Criteria 65).

The Committee determined that Sam Houston State University complies fully with all but the second of these five imperatives. The Committee addresses the instance of partial compliance in the recommendations to this section.

All fiscal matters relating to the Department of Athletics are controlled by the administration through internal procedure and control processes, these procedures and controls being uniformly applied to all University departments. The ultimate responsibility for all fiscal matters of the institution is vested in its chief executive officer, the President of the University.

All support organizations that supplement funding for the Department of Athletics are fiscally controlled by the University and are accounted through the University’s accounting system. With one exception, all such units are included in the annual audit required by the NCAA. The SHSU Lettermen’s Association does not currently have an annual audit; however, all moneys expended by this organization for athletics are given to the Department of Athletics. All expenditures and fund-raising events are approved by the University administration.

All financial aid activities are included in Sam Houston State University’s regular planning, budgeting, accounting, and auditing procedures and controls. The Financial Aid Office reports to the Vice President for Finance and Operations, while the Department of Athletics reports to the Vice President for Student Services. Financial aid is disbursed to student-athletes using the same procedures as those used to aid any other University student financially. Student-athletes are also subject to the same financial needs budget and procedures for processing loan applications.

While management of the Department of Athletics resides with the Vice President for Student Services, all income and expenditures of the department fall under the accounting supervision and control of the Vice President for Finance and Operations.

Sam Houston State University is subject to the single audit method administered independently by the State Auditor and by the Office of Internal Audit. Under this arrangement, the University does not require or receive an "opinion letter" certifying its individual fiscal health. Instead, the opinion letter of the State Auditor covers the entire State of Texas (hence the term "single audit"); the University is thus certified fiscally under the blanket of the general audit. In addition, the Office of Internal Audit independently determines risks and related criteria to develop and perform its annual audit plan, which includes the required annual NCAA financial audit. Such reports are shared with local administration and the Board of Regents, The Texas State University System, as well as the State Auditor.

The Sam Houston State University Lettermen’s Association is arguably a support group for the Department of Athletics. The Committee recommends that, as such, the Association be required to submit to an independent audit of its books and records. Such an independent audit is not currently being performed. Alternatively, the Association should establish an "agency account" with the University that would put the entity under the controls and procedures of the University as it relates to their bookkeeping activities. The Committee recommends that by December of 1998 the Director of Athletics and/or the Vice President for Student Services meet with the appropriate executive members of the Association to express the Committee’s concern regarding accountability. These meetings should also determine the best course of action that will bring the organization into compliance with the oversight requirements of the NCAA.

5.5.4 ACADEMIC PROGRAM

RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS: SECTION 5.5.4