“A Statement of Principles for Athletics at UNC”

Alex Barinka of reesesport reported a group of faculty at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill released on Friday, February 17, 2012, “A statement of principles for Athletics at UNC”. The document was prepared in the aftermath of the NCAA investigation into rules-violations involving the UNC football program during the 2010 season. According to the news release from the group, Barinka noted “the statement, which was endorsed by 112 faculty members, was the result of meetings between an informal group of faculty members at UNC who came together to discuss the future of athletics at UNC. . . The principles are said to address the challenges associated with “the emphasis on Division I athletics and the scandals that are associated with the athletics enterprise. The three principles that the undersigned faculty hopes to see within the athletic department are institutional openness, educational responsibility and mission consistency.”

For more information on this story, click here to read Barinka’s full article or click here to read the News-Observer’s piece on the story.

Social-Media and Universities’ Approaches to Compliance

Seth Kovar, an anchor with WDBJ7 (CBS affiliate; Roanoke/ Lynchburg, Virginia) authored an interesting article describing NCAA member institutions’ diverse approaches to educate, and monitor compliance with NCAA legislation, on social-media. Kovar’s piece starts with the following summary of the issue: “Colleges and universities across the country are closely monitoring their student-athletes’ use of social media. The schools use methods from the honor system to outright bans on Facebook and Twitter accounts.” Kovar looks at how schools such as Virginia Tech and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill approached the issue.

The full story and video can be viewed by clicking here.

Disclaimer: The Michael L. Buckner Law Firm may represent a party or parties in one or more NCAA enforcement cases listed or described on this blog. This blog post does not represent arguments on behalf of firm clients.

Clemson reviewing football players’ appearance on party flier

Takeaway: The NCAA prohibits employing an athlete’s name or likeness to promote a commercial interest.

‘Athletic principles’ statement released by UNC faculty after the NCAA football scandal

Takeaway:  As a result of the ongoing UNC enforcement case, 112 UNC faculty members endorsed an “athletic principles” statement. The three principles that the undersigned faculty hopes to see within the athletic department are institutional openness, educational responsibility and mission consistency.

Multiyear scholarships to be allowed

Takeaway:  Division I schools now have the option to offer scholarships guaranteed for more than one year. Of 330 institutions voting, 62.12 percent voted to override the legislation. A 62.5 percent majority of those voting was required to override legislation.

Former UCF Athletic Director Keith Tribble responds to NCAA allegations

Takeaway:  While Tribble’s response to the NCAA stated he lacked knowledge of NCAA recruiting rules he denied misleading NCAA investigators or intentionally violating NCAA rules. UCF President Joh Hitt, who fired Tribble, stated Tribble was supposed to be “the one the president and the chancellor count on to make sure the bar [of compliance] is raised.”

Vanderbilt will look into tampering complaint by Maryland: Maryland, ACC file grievance with SEC

Takeaway:  Vanderbilt vice-chancellor of athletics David Williams will conduct an internal investigation into whether head football coach James Franklin or anyone else on his staff tampered with Maryland players who intend to transfer. The investigation is in response to a formal complaint by the ACC on behalf Maryland. This was handed to the SEC, who sent a series of question to Vanderbilt regarding the allegations. Franklin has denied any wrongdoing.

For more information on the legislation and the override vote, click here (NCAA website) and here (Inside Higher Ed website).

The Michael L. Buckner Law Firm will provide compliance strategies to avoid rules-violations involving the implementation of this legislation in the March 2012 issue of Collegiate Athletics Best Practices Alert newsletter, which will be released on March 21, 2012. Previous issues of the newsletter, as well as other resources, can be viewed by clicking here.

The Division III Membership Committee’s recommendation came as a result of the Division III membership adopting a proposal at the 2012 convention which confirmed the seven core member requirement and two-year grace year period.

In light of this article, the Michael L. Buckner Law Firm recommends NCAA member institutions conduct annual discussions (among all significant decision-makers and stakeholders) on the short- and long-term strategic and tactical needs of the athletics department in several areas, including, but not limited to, competitive success and program development. The implementation of any strategies and tactics in the areas of competitive success and program development may involve or require changes in conference membership. Colleges and universities should be ready to make immediate decisions on conference membership that adheres to a strategic plan if another round of conference re-alignment occurs in the next five years.

Florida Legislature Debates Changes to FHSAA State Law

The Miami Herald reported on the proposed revisions to state law concerning the Florida High School Athletic Association: “Changes to the Florida High School Athletic Association, the longtime governing entity of public and private school sports, are up for debate in the House Rules and Calendar Committee. HB 1403, sponsored by Rep. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, would require the FHSAA to establish guidelines for investigations and strengthen regulations over its investigators. It would also allow more children in private schools to play sports at public schools. State law limits that option to students who attend small private schools that do not have a sports program.”

The full post can be read by clicking here.

Arnold High-School Extra-Benefit Allegations

WJHG-TV (NBC affiliate; Panama City, Florida) reported details of extra-benefit allegations at Arnold High-School (Panama City Beach, Florida). The piece stated “notes from interviews of current and former Arnold High School football players detail gifts of food and cash to athletes, free lodging at condos in Panama City Beach, and other favors by coaches”.

Video and additional reports on this story can be reviewed by clicking here (WJHG website) and here (Walton Sun website).

Disclaimer: The Michael L. Buckner Law Firm may represent a party or parties in one or more high-school enforcement/compliance cases listed or described on this blog. This blog post does not represent arguments on behalf of firm clients.

Lafayette College president Dr. Daniel H. Weiss, the chair of the league council of presidents stated the league came to the conclusion the decision was “in the best interest of the league because it will help us with future membership prospects for joining the league, it will help us with scheduling out-of-league competitors in football, it will allow us to be more competitive in admissions with regards to identifying and recruiting to our campuses’ outstanding students who also play Division I football at the level of the Patriot League.”

This move will likely not only keep the conference intact, but could also lead to potential expansion. Patriot League executive director Carolyn Schlie Femovich added, “I think there would be some attractiveness to adding one or two more members on the football side and perhaps one or two more members on the full member side. Those conversations have yet to take place. I expect that we’ll be in a good position to do that over the course of the next year or so.”

A full article on the change in financial-aid policy can be found via the Chicago Tribune.

The full Patriot League press release can be found here.

Iliana Limón of the Orlando Sentinel summarizes the core allegations in the case:

Tribble was forced to resign after the NCAA asserted he helped former AAU basketball coach Ken Caldwell, who was allegedly working for a professional sports agent, and former college basketball player Brandon Bender steer recruits to UCF. The NCAA also alleged Tribble tried to arrange a job for the mother of a UCF football recruit, helped Caldwell’s son receive a waiver for in-state tuition and provided free game tickets to Caldwell.

For more information on this story, click the following links to listed media articles: SB Nation Tampa Bay; Orlando Sentinel (Iliana Limón article); Orlando Sentinel (Mike Bianchi blog post).

Mr. McLaughlin believes issues involving funding, hiring and facilities will impact athletics programs during the next five years. Specifically, Mr. McLaughlin explains:

• Funding: The “key is fundraising” for an athletics department.
• Hiring: The “hiring of competent personnel—whether it is staff or coaches”— in the context of the current “tight job market” will be even more important for athletics programs.
• Facilities: The investment in “upgrading facilities” will affect most programs.

To address these issues, Mr. McLaughlin notes it “starts at the top with the president and board of trustees”. Further, Mr. McLaughlin believes if finding solutions to athletically-related challenges are “a priority” for campus leadership, “then everyone is working on the same page”. To this end, Mr. McLaughlin explains senior administrators external to athletics need to understand “athletics is not isolated” because it “overlaps a lot of areas, including alumni relations, admissions, development, public relations”.

Finally, Mr. McLaughlin offers the following best practices and tips to assist presidents, general counsel, athletic directors and compliance personnel with enhancing athletics programs:

• The responsibility of the president and the governing board “is to hire competent athletic directors with a strong sense of morals or ethics”. In fact, if the president and the governing board “hire competent athletics directors and fully support them, they will be successful.”
• University “leaders have to understand the university’s mission” when “assessing athletics goals and expectations”.

 Frank McLaughlin Biography

Frank McLaughlin. It is a name that has become synonymous with Fordham University Athletics. First as a student-athlete in the 1960′s, then as an assistant basketball coach in the 1970′s and more recently for the past 23 years as the Director of Athletics.

After serving as the Director of Athletics for 13 years, McLaughlin was promoted to Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation in the spring of 1998. As the Executive Director he is responsible for the overall supervision and long-range planning of the Athletic Department and Recreational Life Programs. McLaughlin also promotes internal and external interest in the athletic program, and in conjunction with the Development Office, conducts fund-raising for athletics and the University.

In June of 2006, McLaughlin was one of 29 GeneralSports TURF Systems Athletic Directors of the Year (ADOY) by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) while last May he was inducted into the Basketball Oldtimers Hall of Fame.

McLaughlin has been busy the past nine years, overseeing the upgrading of both staff and facilities at his alma mater.

Included in the recent improvements seen at Fordham under McLaughlin’s tenure are the current renovation to Jack Coffey Field and last year’s playing surface upgrade on the Murphy Field complex. Both fields have been resurfaced with state of the art FieldTurf with Coffey Field adding lights, a baseball press box and a new scoreboard while Murphy Field, a multi-purpose athletic facility, has new tennis courts, a new softball field, and a new soccer, football and recreational field, all lighted. Other recent projects include a $2 million Rose Hill Gym renovation in the summer of 2002 which included new stands, lights, and scoreboards.

McLaughlin has also overseen the addition of eight full-time coaching positions, the promotion of several coaches from part-time to full-time status and the addition of women’s soccer and rowing as a varsity sports over the past ten years. McLaughlin was also a force in the University’s decision to move to the Atlantic 10 in 19 of their 22 varsity sports, beginning with the 1995-96 school year.

A 1969 Fordham graduate and standout basketball student-athlete, McLaughlin captained the Rams during his senior season and was drafted by the New York Knicks following graduation. He went on to become an assistant coach at the College of the Holy Cross and after a season there returned to Fordham as an assistant under Richard “Digger” Phelps in 1970-71, helping the Rams to a 26-3 record (.897) and an NCAA Tournament appearance. Fordham finished the season with a ranking of ninth in the nation.

McLaughlin moved to Notre Dame with Phelps the following year where he was a major part of the Fighting Irish’s program through his outstanding recruiting and academic guidance. He helped the Irish to consistent national rankings and NCAA Tournament bids.

In 1977, McLaughlin was named the head coach at Harvard University, where he remained for eight years. In his final season he compiled a 15-9 mark, and currently ranks in th etop five in both seasons and wins in Crimson history.

McLaughlin has served as the president of the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association (MIBA) which is responsible for the preseason and postseason National Invitation Tournaments. He is also very active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Bronx Special Olympics, and was voted to the Catholic High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 1988. McLaughlin is also a member of the Fordham University Kiwanis Club.

McLaughlin and his wife, Susan, have three daughters: Tara Marie (a 1999 Fordham graduate), Mary Heather, (a 2002 Fordham graduate) and Colleen Patrice (a 2005 Fordham graduate). The McLaughlins reside in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.

The need to review Division III recruiting parameters came about following the 2012 NCAA Convention when the Division III membership voiced concerns over the lack of boundaries for recruiting at this level. Two primary issues have been discussed to assist with developing better recruiting parameters: (1) the use of a recruitiing calendar; and (2) evaluations at nonscholastic events. The working group will be expected to deliver recommendations that would allow discussion among the Division III membership at the 2013 NCAA Convention with any legislative proposals being considered at the 2013 NCAA Convention.

A full discussion of this topic can be found on the NCAA website.