Athletics certification was approved for Division I institutions at the 1993 NCAA Convention as a key part of the NCAA's reform agenda. Certification was originally introduced in 1989 and tested in a two-year pilot program. Participants generally agreed that the pilot program was valuable but could be improved by limiting the scope of the self-study. After a special committee reworked the idea over the next year, the NCAA Presidents commission, the NCAA Council and the Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics supported a revised version of the program. Athletics certification began its second cycle in 1999.
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