From the Desk of the Chancellor, April 5, 2010

Chancellor Charles R. Bantz View print-quality image

During the excitement of Butler University’s Final Four story, I know that the IUPUI community was concerned to find us in the headlines last week when the NCAA announced sanctions against us for infractions of student-athlete eligibility requirements. It is important for everyone to know that IUPUI discovered the problem, investigated it, reported it to the NCAA, and immediately made changes to ensure the integrity of the program. We even proposed the sanctions the NCAA announced.

The timing of the NCAA’s announcement during Final Four competition in Indianapolis was not what we hoped, but it is a function of the NCAA’s own internal processes. It does not reflect the concerted activity that has been under way at IUPUI for the past nearly three years. In spring 2007, we hired a full-time compliance officer. Until then, one employee handled both academic advising and compliance. With the separation of compliance from advising, the compliance officer noticed issues immediately, so we investigated to determine the extent of the problem and subsequently reported the violations to the NCAA.

Since 2007, we have added advising staff, instituted procedures to better track our student-athletes, and changed reporting lines so that all now report directly to me. We terminated the advisor, reestablished the athletics eligibility committee, and appointed the dean of the law school as our Faculty Athletic Representative. The athletic department, athletes, and coaches were in no way responsible for any of the infractions or lack of oversight.

In the interest of transparency and full disclosure to the IUPUI community and our constituents, details of the infractions and our response can be found on the IUPUI Athletics Web Site. http://www.iupuijags.com/news/2010/3/30/GEN_0330100444.aspx

Comments? Write chancllr@iupui.edu .