UC Prepares For NCAA Certification Visit

University of Cincinnati President Nancy L. Zimpher has announced that the university has begun a year-long, campus-wide effort to study its athletics program as part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I certification program which operates on a 10 year cycle.  This is the second time the University has been through this routine process.  The study will document academic integrity, governance, rules compliance, commitment to equity, student-athlete welfare and sportsmanship within UC’s athletic programs.

Mitchel D. Livingston, vice president for Student Affairs & Services, chairs the UC certification self-study process.  Livingston has been a member of the University Athletic Committee for the past 11 years. The process will be directed by a steering committee including faculty, administrators, alumni, students and coaches.

“The University of Cincinnati is strongly committed to the principles underlying athletics certification,” Livingston said.  “The certification process will assure that the NCAA’s commitment to the integrity of intercollegiate athletics is shared and advanced by UC.”

The University of Cincinnati certification self-study process will generate a written report to be submitted to the NCAA by May 15, 2006. An evaluation visit by an NCAA Peer Review Team is expected to take place in the autumn of 2006. The certification process may lead to three possible outcomes: certified; certified with conditions; and not certified. The University of Cincinnati was last certified in 1999 after the 1996-97 review process.  The NCAA has changed the frequency of athletics certification from once every five years to once every 10 years, while requiring a five-year interim status report.  The last interim status report was submitted in 2002.

The NCAA is a membership organization of colleges and universities that participate in intercollegiate athletics. The primary purpose of the association is to maintain intercollegiate athletics as an integral part of the educational program, and the athlete as an integral part of the student body. Activities of the NCAA membership include formulating rules of play for NCAA sports, conducting national championships, adopting and enforcing standards of eligibility, and studying all phases of intercollegiate athletics.

The UC NCAA Certification process includes a Web page at:

http://www.uc.edu/ncaa

The Web site includes rosters of certification self-study participants, minutes of associated meetings, and copies of key documents.