Regents study intercollegiate athletics

By Ernest Calderón SPECIAL TO THE ARIZONA DAILY STAR

The Arizona budget situation and our supportive Gov. Jan Brewer have challenged the Arizona Board of Regents to undertake reform of our university system. Athletics is a well-established part of the university experience and, in turn, requires ongoing and timely review.
The accomplishments of our universities' student-athletes have been extraordinary and are worthy of our praise. The championships earned by our teams are commendable.
But there are public concerns that, for all the acclaim intercollegiate athletics brings to our state and its universities, maintaining big-time athletic programs somehow detracts from the overall goal of providing higher education to the citizens of Arizona.
Critics often point to massive department budgets, escalating coaches' salaries (the hiring of University of Arizona basketball coach Sean Miller has been the subject of great debate) and subpar academic performance of student-athletes as indications of a system in need of reform.
In fact, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, an independent group formed to study the governance of college athletics and its fidelity to the mission of postsecondary education, has made ongoing calls for increased fiscal restraint and commitment to academics since its initial report was issued in 1991.
As a tool for oversight, the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) retains the right to censure or penalize schools for any misdeeds or violation of association rules. Each NCAA school must undertake a self-study of its athletic department's practices and diligence in the areas of institutional control, academics, equity and student-athlete well-being as a condition of certification in the association.
The University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University and Arizona State University are each in good standing with the NCAA. While improvement is always welcome, overall academic performance at each school is compliant with established standards.
Additionally, the graduation rate of student-athletes is higher than that of the general student population at all three schools; though it should be noted that our most prominent sports, football and men's basketball, lag in this category, and are subject to the Board of Regents review.
The NCAA measures are useful to assess basic control and governance; however, they are largely self-regulated and self-reporting conditions of operation. Arizona's universities fall under the purview of Arizona Board of Regents. It is essential that the regents maintain a transparent and contemporaneous view of intercollegiate athletics in order for the citizens of Arizona to have a complete understanding of policy, practice and performance.
I asked regent and former U.S. Sen. Dennis DeConcini to chair an ad hoc committee on intercollegiate athletics at our universities. The committee will take a fresh look at athletic operations in relation to the overall interests of Arizona. The regents intend to examine college sports enterprises in the context of the value our public investment in athletics returns to our schools, their students and Arizona in general.
The regents will ask the questions: What need does intercollegiate athletics serve and to what level is this service being executed?
Our assessment will not be conducted as an inquisition nor will it produce a Pollyanna's view of big-time college athletic programs. It will simply serve to guide our universities toward activities that ultimately benefit our students and either satisfy or set benchmarks for measurable accountability.
The time is ripe for such a review, and it should assist our university presidents in dealing with the issues of the day. UA President Robert Shelton deserves the Board of Regents' critical analysis and direction as he grapples with the changing dynamics of intercollegiate athletics and the hard decisions that he faces in elevating the UA sports program.
Intercollegiate athletics can inspire us and educate our students in life's lessons, but it must remain faithful to the educational missions of our universities, today and henceforth. Intercollegiate athletics must be accountable to Arizona, or the Board of Regents will reform its practices.
The Arizona Board of Regents Web site is www.azregents.edu