NCAA certification prompts Pitt to conduct study

The University will soon conduct a self-study of their athletics program, as part of the NCAA… The University will soon conduct a self-study of their athletics program, as part of the NCAA Division I athletics certification program.

Pitt will begin this study in October, and it is expected to last until May 2006.

The Chancellor will appoint the team, a mixture of faculty, staff and students, for the self-study.

“Students haven’t been appointed by the Chancellor yet,” Pitt Vice Chancellor Randy Juhl said.

Juhl said that the study will examine compliance with rules, academic integrity, equity and student-athlete welfare.

“Self-study is something that is frequently done within universities,” Juhl said, adding that every NCAA university has the same standards and processes.

Juhl said that the external review board certified Pitt in 1998.

Conducting self-studies will allow universities to “make sure you have a good, tight and sound program,” according to Juhl.

When Pitt has finished the self-study, an external team of reviewers from other colleges, universities or conference offices will visit the university for a few days to evaluate the program.

Juhl said that Pitt will not know who will comprise the external review team until sometime next spring. He added, though, that professionals such as an athletics director, a coach, a professor and an NCAA representative might make up the team.

After they are finished reviewing the university, the external team will then report to the NCAA Division I Committee on Athletics Certification. They will then decide the certification status of the university.

According to Juhl, the overall certification process will last more than a year.

There are three options for certification status: certified, certified with conditions and not certified at all.

Pitt earned a rating of certified after the first study.

“You’re either accredited or you’re not,” Juhl said.

Colleges and universities are given the opportunity to improve problem areas. If the schools do not solve these issues, the NCAA championships might find them ineligible.