Intercollegiate athletic program fully certified by the NCAA
Virginia Tech recently completed a comprehensive self study as part of the NCAA Division I Athletics Certification program, which is required of all NCAA member schools to ensure integrity in the operation of athletics programs at the university, and has been fully certified by the NCAA's Committee on Athletics Certification.
The self study focused on three areas: governance and commitment to rules compliance, academic integrity, and equity and student-athlete well-being. NCAA standards (called “Operating Principles”) for each area allow universities to measure themselves compared to these standards.
The Virginia Tech certification team included President Charles W. Steger, Athletic Director Jim Weaver, and other Virginia Tech students, faculty, and staff. The steering committee was chaired by Minnis Ridenour, senior fellow for resource development.
The certification team included three subcommittees. The subcommittee on governance and commitment to rules compliance was chaired by Joe Tront, professor of electrical and computer engineering in the College of Engineering; the subcommittee on academic integrity was chaired by David Ford, vice president and dean for undergraduate education; and the subcommittee on equity and student-athlete well-being was chaired by Zenobia Hikes, vice president of student affairs.
Each subcommittee issued a report and submitted it to the steering committee for review and comment. The steering committee issued a summary draft report in the spring of 2007 for public review and input. The final report from the certification team was submitted to the NCAA in May 2007.
Once the final report was submitted, an external team of reviewers conducted an evaluation visit to the university in fall of 2007. The review team submitted a report to the NCAA Division I Committee on Athletics Certification who then made the final determination of certification status.
