Committee finds SEMO mostly in NCAA compliance

As Southeast Missouri State University continues to deal with the damage of major NCAA violations from more than two-and-a-half years ago, an in-house committee finds the institution is in compliance with most program areas now. A majority of Southeast's 300-plus athletes are graduating on time and many at the head of their class, according to university officials.

Southeast's Department of Athletics is undergoing the National Collegiate Athletic Association recertification process, the third such cycle since the mid-1990s. A steering committee made up of faculty and staff, students, booster club members and a representative of the university's board of regents has spent the past several months reviewing Southeast's athletic programs. Subcommittees have addressed four major operating principles outlined by the NCAA: governance and commitment to NCAA rules compliance; academic integrity; gender diversity; and athlete well-being.

In late March, the steering committee's Division I Certification Self-Study report was approved by the board of regents, in time for the committee to meet with an NCAA liaison at the end of this month. A team of peers from another institution of higher education is expected to tour Southeast in November to investigate whether the self-study paints an accurate picture of college athlete life. Ultimately, the information will be used in guiding the NCAA's decision whether to grant recertification of Southeast's Division I status.

The in-house report found an athletic department mostly in compliance with NCAA guidelines.

"I am certain that some issues need to be addressed, but we did not find major problems from our perspective," said Chris McGowan, Southeast's dean of the College of Science and Mathematics and chairman of the self-study steering committee. "We didn't find anything that reached out and glared at us and said, 'We had a big issue here.'"

Arguably, the bigger program deficiencies occurred in the gender equity segment, particularly in medical training and facilities.

"Strength and conditioning staff is understaffed to accommodate the needs of both gender," the report found.

Southeast has one strength coach, and the staff member's services are spread thin, McGowan said. So the coach goes where there is the most need, and that often is the football team and the men's and women's basketball squads. The report calls for looking at the feasibility of hiring more staff.

Tracking publicity and awards is another problem area, according to the study.

"It was impossible to determine if gender specific issues exist due to the lack of adequate documentation," the report says. "Budgeted amounts for publicity, awards, marketing and fundraising were equitable but the institution needs to document the distribution of these dollars as well as appropriate gifts in kind to demonstrate equitable expenditures. The committee also found "considerable variability" in equipment and supplies provided to student athletes by team due to flexibility given to the coaches.

Cindy Gannon, Southeast's associate athletic director and member of the committee, said the university is committed to equity under the provisions of Title IX, the nearly 40-year-old federal law prohibiting discrimination based on gender.

"It's interpreted many different ways, but we try to look at it as trying to treat our students equal, both male and female," said Gannon, who serves as Southeast's Senior Woman administrator. "I like to say that you wouldn't have your daughter stay at a Motel 6 and your son stay at a Holiday Inn. We really try to create layers of awareness."

The list of deficiencies were fairly elementary in the Rules Compliance category, including the institution's lack of written procedures for the NCAA Division I Academic Performance Program, which sets standards for student athlete scholastic achievement and graduation. The report outlines a goal of creating written procedures.

Shadowing the report are the academic infractions and penalties imposed by both the university and the NCAA in recent years.

In August 2009, the NCAA cited Southeast's men's basketball program for major and secondary violations that included impermissible benefits to players, coaches attending summer strength and conditioning activities. and coaches observing offseason pickup games. The team was ordered to vacate 11 wins from the 2007-2008 season. Head coach Scott Edgar, who was fired in 2008, also was cited by the NCAA for unethical conduct and was given a three-year show-cause order that makes it difficult for any NCAA institution to hire him. He denied involvement or knowledge of the violations and filed an appeal, which upheld the sanctions.

Southeast voluntarily took away one of its 13 scholarships. The basketball program is moving toward conclusion of three-year probation. But the fallout continues. Southeast remains at 12 scholarships, an NCAA sanction for the program's failure to retain athletes at or above the target 92.5 percent. It's a tougher policy, known as "0-for-2," noting an athlete's failure to maintain adequate grades and to persist to graduation.

"There's been a lot of turnover with the men's program, with the coaching changes, and that led to a lot of it," said Brady Barke, Southeast's assistant athletic director for Compliance and Eligibility.

Football and women's basketball also have lost scholarships in recent years.

But overall, athletes are more likely to graduate than Southeast's general student population. Recently, 186 of the university's athletes were recognized for 3.0 GPAs or higher, according to Southeast president Dr. Ken Dobbins. More than a dozen posted 4.0 GPAs, he said.

The emphasis of the self-review is to find ways to build on the academic support of the student athlete, he said.

"I've always said it, student athletes are students first and athletes second," he said.

mkittle@semissourian.com

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