REPORT OF THE

REPORT OF THE

NCAA COMMITTEE ON SPORTSMANSHIP AND ETHICAL CONDUCT

ACTION ITEMS.

1. Legislative Action Items.

· None.

2. Nonlegislative Action Items.

· None.

INFORMATIONAL ITEMS.

Association-wide.

1 Mission Statement. The committee reaffirmed the mission statement and developed its strategic plan based on the following:

a. What aspects of sportsmanship and ethical behavior warrant the committee’s focus?

b. What is our strategy to promote those focal points? Prioritize and consolidate.

c. Develop an action plan.

2. Strategic Plan. The committee’s plan consists of two prongs — promotional and educational. For the promotional aspect, the committee plans to launch a campaign developed through collaboration with the NCAA branding and communications staff to create a long-term approach aimed at sustained awareness of and commitment to sportsmanship ideals. For the educational prong, the committee agreed that educational/training materials geared toward delivery at the institutional level are needed. Most Division I institutions seek resources related to managing on-campus events and, when needed, handling negative incidents, including a protocol for responding. Additionally, suggestions for conferences to support institutions would be helpful along with institutional best practices for addressing alcohol use before, during and after athletics events.

3. Division II update. The committee discussed the division’s consideration of establishing a Division II Sportsmanship Infraction, which would authorize officials to stop the game noting an infraction had occurred.

4. Division III update. The committee noted that Division III has a three-prong approach to sportsmanship issues: education, game management policies and enforcement. The Division III commissioners developed a Division III Fan Sportsmanship Program aimed at building a positive spirit in the stands throughout Division III. Thirty-four conferences and 375 institutions have joined the program. Related to enforcement, 75 percent of Division III institutions are participating in the conduct-foul program. Committee members noted that game management at NCAA championships is a significant issue warranting improved hosting by Division III institutions.

5. Division I update. The committee noted that conferences are conducting public service announcements, and some institutions are filming student sections and bench areas to police conduct.

6. Sportsmanship meetings/conferences.

a. June 2006 NACDA Sportsmanship Summit. The committee received a report from the members who attended the NACDA Summit. The summit allowed significant interaction/discussion related to preventing and addressing unsportsmanlike incidents; however, attendance was low, as the summit was held at the end of the Convention. The committee agreed to seek a different time slot for future summits.

b. 2007 NCAA Convention presentation. The committee discussed the format and substance of the pending Association-wide sportsmanship session scheduled for the NCAA Convention.

c. Patriot League Sportsmanship Summit. Alan Patterson, Division II commissioner of the Carolina-Virginia Athletics Conference, was invited to attend the first-ever Patriot League Sportsmanship Summit, initiated by the league’s presidents.

d. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transsexual (LGBTT) Think Tank. Co-sponsored by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and the NCAA, the think tank met October 30, 2006, in Indianapolis. The group discussed negative recruiting in women’s athletics related to a coach’s sexuality, a tactic dissuading some women from entering the coaching profession and causing other women to leave it. The Women’s Basketball Coach’s Association developed legislation suspending an individual’s membership if the individual is found involved in negative recruiting. Volleyball, softball and basketball coaches associations were all represented at the meeting.

7. Sports wagering update. The committee noted that all three divisions are considering a proposal to amend Bylaw 10.3. The staff updated the committee on the recent employment of a point spread monitoring program. The staff also reviewed educational initiatives, including the "Don't Bet On It" campaign, which the committee agreed should serve as a model for the "Everyone's A Player" sportsmanship initiative. Finally, the committee discussed a proposal, similar to the existing rule for Division I men’s and women’s basketball, for all sports that would prohibit conducting NCAA championships in cities where sports wagering is legalized.

8. Update on sportsmanship Web site. The committee reviewed the updated sportsmanship Web site and provided feedback. The committee discussed ways to promote both the site and its resources. The committee recommended that the online tool kit be added to the “Related Information” and also suggested that a sportsmanship logo be added to the home page of ncaa.org to provide more visibility to the issue.

9. Review of Facebook.com and MySpace.com. The staff demonstrated both cyber communities for the committee. The staff’s PowerPoint presentation is available on the NCAA sportsmanship Web site.

10. Sportsmanship survey results. The committee conducted an online sportsmanship survey of the membership. Across all divisions, fans represented the greatest sportsmanship concern. All divisions identified serving as good hosts and controlling fan behavior as ways to improve visiting teams’ experience. Each division’s respondents identified the director of athletics as the top individual responsible for setting the expectation of good sportsmanship. Finally, the committee noted that given respondents’ answers to the following, more work is needed to assist institutions with game management policies:

Are conference facilities safe and secure for competitors and fans?

· Division I: Yes – 73.7%

39.2% have seen problems at specific schools

· Division II: Yes – 74.4%

34.5% have seen problems at specific schools

· Division III: Yes – 74.3%

30.4% have seen problems at specific schools

11. Subcommittee breakouts.

a. Strategic planning.

(1) The subcommittee elected Eugene Doris as the new chair.

(2) The subcommittee members agreed to establish a timeline for implementation of the strategic plan.

(3) The subcommittee members confirmed that they wanted to pursue a meeting with the NCAA branding and communications staff to discuss promotional efforts.

(4) The subcommittee brainstormed ideas for a new tagline to be implemented for the 2007-08 academic year, more encompassing and with a stronger impact than the poster campaign “Everyone’s a Player.” The subcommittee emphasized the need for the new educational/branding effort to include other organizations including, but not limited to:

(a) National Association of Basketball Coaches

(b) American Football Coaches Association

(d) NCAA Division II Management Council

(e) NCAA Division III Management Council

(f) NCAA Division I Management Council

(g) National Student-Athlete Advisory Committees

b. Accountability. The committee reviewed its two-prong charge established at the July 2005 meeting, which is to:

(1) Recognize and reward exemplary sportsmanship behavior; and

(2) Communicate with conferences/institutions following unsportsmanlike incidents to understand what action was taken.

The subcommittee agreed to focus on the first prong and scale back efforts geared toward communicating with conferences/institutions following unsportsmanlike incidents. For the first prong, the subcommittee emphasized that more contemporaneous recognition is needed when an exemplary act of sportsmanship occurs. For reporting of positive incidents, the subcommittee has a portion of the sportsmanship Web site dedicated to accepting reports from the membership and general public.

12. Hazing initiatives. Mary Wilfert, NCAA assistant director of education services, presented the Association’s recent initiatives to address hazing. The committee agreed that the issue deserves heightened awareness and suggested that an NCAA Convention presentation be dedicated to the topic

13. Playing rules committees. The committee met (via telephone) with NCAA staff liaison Ty Halpin to review sportsmanship-related rules in all sports. Halpin explained that the rules for each sport are consistent across divisions. He noted that the football playing rules committee has focused on celebratory penalties. The committee expressed interest in partnering with the Playing Rules Oversight Panel to address sportsmanship-related issues. Halpin noted that the rules committees invite input related to crowd control and the responsibility left to game officials to address inappropriate conduct when athletics administrators should be managing the situation. To assist with crowd control, the committee is recommending to the Playing Rules Oversight Panel that game managers be required to identify themselves to game officials. Noting that in some cases when an event manager is responsible for multiple events, there should be an established protocol to respond should an incident occur. Related to the penalties for participants leaving the bench during an incident, the committee is seeking an overview of the current rules for fighting and bench-clearing to better understand the current regulations and explore whether a uniform penalty is appropriate.

14. NCAA sportsmanship award update.

a. 2006 overall female and Division III female winner

– Sarah Dawn Schettle, University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh

b. 2006 overall male and Division II male winner

– Mike Rose, Slippery Rock University

c. Division II female winner

– Rae Ann Sherred, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania

d. Division III male winner

– Nathan Edmunds, Middlebury College

e. Division I female winner

– Anna Key, University of California, Berkeley