Chancellor Bantz Establishes An Advisory Committee on Women's Basketball

This week The Indianapolis Star published a front-page story on the IUPUI women’s basketball team. Regarding the content of that article, Chancellor Charles R. Bantz has issued the following statement:

“On Sunday (July 25), The Indianapolis Star released a front page story about women’s basketball with the headline ‘Emotional Abuse’ at IUPUI? The story had been researched by Mark Alesia and his colleagues for several weeks and the campus had cooperated with requests for information regarding the content of the article. The Athletic Department and campus administration had previously conducted preliminary internal investigations on the allegations of harassment and NCAA practice violation referenced in the story.

IUPUI remains committed to respecting the rights of all students, faculty and staff and strives to maintain a campus climate free of harassment, discrimination, or hostility. However, confidentiality laws and university policy governing release of information about students and employees prevent a discussion of whether complaints have been referred to the Equal Opportunity office or the resolution of complaints filed.

Along with a commitment to the rights of its student-athletes, the Athletics Department strives to ensure strict compliance with all NCAA rules. IUPUI reported by telephone to NCAA enforcement officials last week that the Indianapolis Star was doing a story on the women’s basketball team and the status of our own investigations.

To continue our internal in-depth investigation of the athletic experience of our students and NCAA compliance, I have asked an advisory committee to investigate the climate and compliance issues reported by our former students. The committee will be chaired by Retired Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for Southern Indiana Sue Shields , and will also include Associate Athletics Director and Senior Woman Administrator Angie Torain, and Faculty Athletic Representative and Dean of the IU School of Law- Indianapolis Gary Roberts .”

When the three-member advisory committee finishes its research and interviews, the chancellor will report the committee’s findings to IU President McRobbie, the IU Board of Trustees and the IUPUI leadership team.