Members: Class of 2000: James Murphy (filling unfinished term), Anne H. Fishel (chair, 1999-2000); Class of 2001: Richard Rosen (chair, 2000-2001), Karla Henderson; Class of 2002: Stanley Mandel, Trudier Harris; Class of 2003: Judy White, Louise Antony (resigned 6/30/00), Carol Arnosti (replacing Antony); Class of 2004: Nicholas Didow, Celia Hooper; Class of 2005: Lissa Broome, James Murphy (elected to full term); ACC/NCAA Representative: John P. (Jack) Evans.

Meetings: Fall 1999-Spring 2000. The committee held monthly meetings during the 1999-2000 academic year. There were four meetings a semester for a total of eight meetings.

Report Prepared by: Richard Rosen (Chair, 2000-01), based on minutes and approved by the committee.

Committee Charge: "The Faculty Athletics Committee is concerned with informing the faculty and advising the chancellor on any aspect of athletics, including, but not limited to, the academic experience for varsity athletes, athletic opportunities for members of the University community, and the general conduct and operation of the University's athletic program" (Faculty Code, §4-7(a)).

Committee Functions: Subcommittees were established to take primary responsibility for issues as decided in the first meeting of the year. Committee members provided advice that was sought and used by the Chancellor and the Athletics Department. Chancellor McCoy attended meetings as his schedule permitted. Athletics Director Baddour and/or other members of the Athletics Department were also in attendance. Committee members served on various Athletics Department Committees, including the Advisory Board to the Academic Support Center and the committee, chaired by Professor Richard Edwards, which was responsible for conducting the interim certification study required by the NCAA.

Report of Discussions:

Academic Performance of Student-Athletes

The Committee spent a good deal of its time examining the academic performance of our student-athletes. This was done in a number of ways.

Inspection of data on academic progress of student-athletes. Included as an Appendix to this report is a series of tables for each cohort of students entering the University beginning with 1984 which summarizes the academic status as of the Fall semester of 2000. The data are for men and women, athletes and non-athletes, and they include four categories of students: those who are currently enrolled, graduated, suspended, or withdrawn from the University. These latter two categories have the following meanings. "Suspended" means those individuals who left the University not eligible to continue, and "withdrawn" includes all individuals who left the University eligible to continue. In addition, these data are for all participating student-athletes, not just those receiving athletic scholarships.

Generally, the women student-athletes have been graduating at a higher rate than women non-athletes. The reverse is true for student-athletes who are men. Of most concern has been data showing an increase in the disparity between graduation rates between the male categories for the 1990-1993 entering cohorts. While the statistics for the 1994 cohort demonstrate a marked improvement in this respect, the low graduation rate for the 1995 male student-athlete cohort is again significantly below that for the comparable non-athletes. These graduation rates were discussed at great length throughout the year, with both Committee members and Athletics Department officials seeking to get beneath the data to determine the causes of the problem and to come up with potential solutions.

The data continue to show an increased rate of withdrawals during the 1990s. One change contributing to this phenomenon is that an NCAA rule change has made transferring easier and UNC-CH has experienced increased transfer rates, particularly among male student-athletes. Even though these students might leave the University eligible to continue and graduate elsewhere, they are still classified as withdrawals.

Survey answers by, and exit interviews with, graduating senior student-athletes. The Committee and the Athletics Department ask all graduating student-athletes to fill out a detailed questionnaire, prepared by the Committee, covering many aspects of their experience at UNC-CH. In addition, Committee members participate, along with personnel from the Athletics Department and the Academic Support Center, in exit interviews with groups of graduating student-athletes. Looking at these indicia, the Committee hopes to obtain an accurate portrayal of how the student-athletes themselves view their experience at UNC-CH. Overall, both the surveys and the exit interviews reveal a positive view of their experience at UNC-CH as both students and athletes. The time devoted to athletics is viewed as a problem for some students, as is the difficulty of scheduling which comes with the heavy and sometimes rigid time commitment required in athletics. Yet, almost all of the student-athletes say that they would recommend the experience here to others considering attending UNC-CH as a student-athlete. Although not all student-athletes feel the need to use the resources of the Academic Support Center, those who do use it find it helpful and a useful resource. One problem that the students raise has to do with the quality of the advising they receive. They voice a good deal of criticism of the advising from the College of Arts and Sciences, and while they give higher marks to the advising provided at the Academic Support center, the recent heavy staff turnover at the Center apparently made it difficult for the students to know where they should go for advice. The questionnaire responses and the exit interviews also demonstrate that a key role is played by individual coaches and their attitudes towards academics. In general, it appears that the coaches and other representatives of the Department of Athletics take the academic part of a student-athlete's experience at this University very seriously, although there is some variation in this among teams.

Research on graduation rates of "non-competitive admits." The Committee received and discussed the findings of a master’s thesis which found that cumulative GPA and graduation rates for student-athletes who are admitted under the "non-competitive admissions" program are worse than those of other student-athletes. A similar but lesser discrepancy exists between non-athletes who are admitted as "non-competitive admits" and other non-athletes.
 

Sportsmanship Another major topic of discussion throughout the last academic year was the issue of sportsmanship, as it relates to athletes, coaches, and fans. A subcommittee was created to examine this issue. Discussions covered the efforts being made by the NCAA and the ACC to improve behavior by all involved in sporting events, and ideas for specifically improving the situation at UNC-CH were also a subject of inquiry.

Meeting With a Coach This year the Committee met with Field Hockey Coach Karen Shelton. Coach Shelton discussed her attempts to comply with the three goals articulated by the Athletics Department: to bring in excellent students, to follow NCAA rules, and to produce a competitive team. She discussed the efforts she makes to accommodate the often competing athletic and academic demands faced by the members of her team, recruiting practices, and the importance to her program of the new stadium. Coach Shelton also articulated a request on behalf of all Olympic sports coaches — that they be allowed several more out-of-state admissions recommendations.

University's Relationship with the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) Professor Pete Andrews met with the committee to discuss the work of the Licensing Labor Code Advisory Committee on the issue of working conditions and the University’s relationship with manufacturers who supply goods to our licensees. Among the matters discussed were the attempts to coordinate activities with other universities and UNC-CH’s relationship with the competing national organizations in this area.

Arrests of Student-Athletes and Athletics Department Personnel On several occasions the Committee discussed recent arrests of individuals connected with the athletic programs, including a coach arrested for driving while intoxicated and two basketball players who were arrested for assault.

Morehead Scholars Who Are Student-Athletes Carrying over a topic from the previous academic year, the Committee received a report on, and discussed, the NCAA treatment of student-athletes who receive Morehead Scholarships. The University and the Morehead Foundation have made several changes in the way that Morehead Scholarships are administered and disbursed in order to mitigate the adverse affect of recent changes in NCAA legislation. A University appeal of an NCAA ruling concerning a decision that would have required restitution for excess financial aid by several student-athletes who receive Morehead Scholarships was also a matter of discussion.

Academic Support Center Dr. Janice Hilliard was hired as the director of the Academic Support Center on July 1, 1999. She met with the Committee several times during the year. Discussions centered on the new staff hired in the Center and Ms. Hilliard’s plans for continuing and improving the work of the Center.

Athletic Department Policies The Committee examined and discussed a number of proposed Athletics Department policies, including one on gambling, another on consequences of arrest and convictions for various offenses, and another for a Student-Athlete Code of Conduct. The Code of Conduct and gambling policies did not occasion any Committee comment. Several changes were made in the proposed arrest/conviction policy after the Committee discussion.

NCAA Policies The Committee met at length about the court decisions concerning the NCAA policy using SAT and ACT scores for scholarship eligibility. Committee members disagreed about the appropriateness of using them as a cut-off for eligibility. The Committee was also asked to comment on pending NCAA legislation, and the members voiced their support for, or opposition to, a number of pending proposals.

Smith Center Seating The Committee discussed with Mr. Baddour the controversy about student seating at the Smith Center. The Committee voiced approval of Mr. Baddour’s interest in finding a solution and urged him to continue the discussions with students and alumni.

Construction The Committee discussed the plans for renovating or replacing the Kenan Field House. This is the building that houses the Academic Support Center.

Title IX Since the Athletics Department was conducting an in-depth study during the 1999-2000 school year of its Title IX compliance, with membership including representation from the Committee, the Committee did not undertake any separate Title IX inquiry last year. [Note: the Committee has been advised of the preliminary findings of the Title IX inquiry since the beginning of the 2000-2001 school year.]

Topics for 2000-2001 Academic progress of student-athletes, student-athlete behavior, exit interviews for graduating student-athletes, sportsmanship, Title IX issues, CLC task force, course-registration issues, and academic support center.
 

In Conclusion:
The Committee continues to ask questions and raise issues related to the quality of life for the student-athlete. We are appreciative that the athletic programs at UNC-CH have a national reputation of being well-run, but we are also aware of the continual need to achieve a balance between the academic and athletic needs of the University.