West Virginia University received unconditional recertification Thursday from the NCAA Division I Committee on Athletics Certification, recognizing that the University’s athletic program is in “substantial conformity with operating principles” adopted by Division I schools.
The full NCAA announcement is available here.
“This unconditional certification is an important indication that we have a very solid athletic department,” President James P. Clements said. “Many people were involved in the process, including faculty, staff, students and administrators. This collaboration demonstrated the integration of athletics with the broader mission of the University.
“I am extremely pleased we achieved certification and want to thank everyone who helped with the process and especially those who work hard everyday in the athletic department,” Clements said.
The purpose of athletics certification is to ensure integrity in the institution’s athletics program and to assist institutions in improving their athletics departments, the NCAA said.
WVU was one of the first schools to volunteer for the NCAA’s pilot certification program in 1991, and was one of five schools originally certified. WVU’s program was recertified by the NCAA in 1996 and then again in 2001.
This round of recertification began two years ago with a self-study of governance and commitment to rules compliance, academic integrity, as well as gender and diversity and student-athlete well-being.
“This is a nice compliment to the more than 200 employees working in our department. We all are proud of this recognition,” Director of Athletics Ed Pastilong said. “On behalf of the department, I would like to thank the certification team here at WVU for its hard work during the past 18 months. Unconditional certification by the NCAA is very important and doesn’t come easily. This is a great achievement for our department and University.”
The Division I Committee on Athletics Certification preliminarily reviews an institution’s certification materials and provides a list of issues identified during the evaluation. The university then hosts a visit by peer reviewers who file a report regarding the institution’s resolution of those issues before a final certification decision is rendered. An institution’s failure to satisfactorily respond to the committee may negatively affect certification status.
All 335 active Division I members participate in the certification process. Other schools receiving recertification Thursday were: Gonzaga University, Northern Illinois University, Oklahoma State University, Oregon State University, Southern Methodist University, St. Francis University (PA), St. Mary’s College (CA), St. John’s University (NY), University of Kansas, University of Richmond and University of Wisconsin, Madison.
The members of the Committee on Athletics Certification are: Anthony Archbald, Princeton University; John Balog; Jacksonville University; Robert Bernardi, Nicholls State University; Ann Carr, Mississippi State University; Casey Comoroski, Missouri State University; Beatrice Crane Banford, Marshall University; Beth DeBauche, Ohio Valley Conference; Tom Douple, The Summit League; Amy Folan, University of Texas at Austin; Joanne Glasser, Bradley University; Nathan Hatch (chair), Wake Forest University; Brian Linnane, Loyola College (Maryland); Barbara Luebke, University of Rhode Island; M. Dianne Murphy, Columbia University-Barnard College; Sheila Patterson, Cleveland State University; Donald Pope-Davis, University of Notre Dame; Allison Rich, California State University, Fullerton; Judy Van Horn, University of Michigan; and Sarah Wilhelmi, West Coast Conference.
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jb/04/15/10
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