Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct

Committee members Brian Coffman, University of Wisconsin, Parkside; Marissa Puga, Farleigh Dickinson University; Michael Wortley, John Hopkins University; and William Saum, staff liaison were unable to participate on the call.

[Note:  The following minutes reflect only actions taken (formal votes or “sense of meeting”) in accordance with the NCAA policy governing minutes of all Association entities.  While certain items on the committee’s agenda were acted upon at various times throughout the meeting, all final actions within a given topic are combined in these minutes for convenience of reference.]  

Tuesday, January 8, 2001

1.

Welcome and Announcements.  Mr. Frederick called the meeting to order at 10 a.m.  He welcomed Messrs. Harper and Klebez to the committee.  

2.

Recommendations to the Cabinet on Misconduct Process.  The purpose of the call was to determine what, if any, recommendations should be forwarded to the NCAA Division I Championships and Competition Cabinet regarding its procedure for adjudicating misconduct cases that arise from NCAA championship events.

It was VOTED

“That the following recommendations be sent to the cabinet:”

a.

“That a subcommittee of five to seven cabinet members be appointed to hear all appeals of findings and/or penalties imposed for misconduct infractions by the governing sports committees.  The subcommittee’s decision should be final without any further appeal opportunities.  The procedures governing the process should be placed in writing and a conflict of interest policy should be adopted for the subcommittee members.”

b.

“That the championships staff liaison maintain a misconduct file that monitors the type and frequency of misconduct findings and imposed penalties.  The file should be used to compare and contrast decisions of the governing sports committees in cases of misconduct.”

3.

Defining Unsportsmanlike Behavior.  The staff liaisons were instructed to collect data regarding the history of misconduct cases of NCAA championships events.  The information will be used to identify benchmarks for student-athletes, coaches, staff, officials and fans for unethical or unsportsmanlike behavior.  The benchmarks will be a part of a comprehensive proposal the committee is developing to improve conduct at athletics events in general.

4.

Adjournment.  The conference call was adjourned at 11:20 a.m.