US04/05-3 – Revision of Intercollegiate Athletics Committee Charge and

   Responsibilities

 

Sponsored by:           Intercollegiate Athletics Committee

Passed:                       Unanimously by voice vote, University Senate January 12, 2005

 

Whereas, the President’s Special Task Force on Athletics has made several recommendations on the role of the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee (IAC), the University Senate adopts the following as the charge and responsibilities of the IAC to replace in its entirety the previous charge and responsibilities (all additions to the previous charge and responsibilities are in italics; there are no deletions). 

 

CHARGE & RESPONSIBILITIES

 

The Intercollegiate Athletics Committee shall:

 

1.  Represent the academic standards of the university as embodied in the University of Oregon Mission Statement in all decisions;

 

2.  Advise the administration, the senate, and the athletics director on any athletics department policy or program, including the athletics department budget;

 

3.  Promote and safeguard opportunities for student athletes to excel in academics and protect and ensure the academic integrity of student athletes; and,

 

4.  Promote greater understanding, for the university community, of intercollegiate athletics and the relationship between academics and athletics.

 

As part of its function and in order to carry out its governance function, the IAC shall be consulted by:

 

1.  The athletics department on:

 

  1. any proposed changes in departmental recruiting policies, academic advising, expectations regarding student schedules, or any other practice that could affect the academic or financial standing of students who are athletes. The IAC need not to be informed of all changes mandated by the NCAA for student athletes, which fall under the purview of the faculty athletics representative, although the IAC should be notified of any major changes.

 

  1. any decisions, large donations, or commercial offers that potentially change the financial landscape of athletics or might influence university finances outside the athletics department;

 

  1. any decisions that potentially affect the campus environment, including construction, removal, or remodeling of facilities, changes in the timing of facilities use, or changes in permitted uses of facilities;

 

  1. scheduling of athletic events, including scheduling changes made to accommodate other universities or the media except for Saturday football start times;

 

  1. addition or termination of sport teams, or changes in the status of sport teams;

 

  1. the appointment of head coaches for all intercollegiate athletics teams.  In cases where an open search process is conducted for head coaching positions, an Intercollegiate Athletics Committee (IAC) faculty member shall be included on the search committee.  When the search is abbreviated, the athletics director shall consult with the chair of the IAC.

 

2.  The athletics director, or designee, via the chair of the IAC to determine if changes in athletics department procedures, policies, or activities reach a threshold deserving of attention by the full committee.

 

3.  The faculty athletics representative about all ongoing investigations and major violations.

 

The Intercollegiate Athletics Committee shall have one subcommittee, an executive committee, consisting of the committee chair, one faculty member, one student and the faculty athletics representative. The executive committee shall be charged with maintaining close and timely communications with the athletics department, through the athletics director or designee. The executive committee shall set the agenda and venue for IAC meetings. The executive committee shall be empowered to call extraordinary meetings of the IAC. The chair of the IAC shall be elected at the final regularly scheduled spring meeting and must be a returning member. The chair of the IAC shall be responsible for forming the executive committee. It is expected that the executive committee shall have regular contact with the athletics department during the summer.

 

To better educate its committee members to the complexities of university athletics, the IAC shall hold a once yearly retreat prior to the academic year. The retreat shall provide a forum for new members to learn about the role of the IAC in supporting the Mission Statement of the University of Oregon, to learn about administration of campus athletics, and to be informed on issues potentially requiring IAC attention in the year ahead.

 

MEMBERSHIP

 

Membership of the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee is fixed and consists of eighteen (18) voting members, eleven (11) teaching faculty, two (2) classified staff, and five (5) students. Eight (8) teaching faculty members -- four (4) from the College of Arts and Sciences and four (4) from other areas -- and two (2) classified staff shall be elected to the committee by the teaching faculty, and classified staff, respectively.  Faculty and staff committee members may serve up to three consecutive two-year terms.  After three terms, faculty and staff members must be off the committee for two years before being eligible for re-election or re-appointment. The University Senate shall appoint two (2) faculty members to the IAC for two-year terms. The faculty athletics representative shall be an ex-officio member of the committee with full membership privileges.  The five students shall be appointed through the ASUO and the president's office. At least one student member shall be a varsity student athlete.  Students shall serve one-year terms and may serve up to three consecutive terms.  The athletics director and his designees on the IAC shall be ex-officio non-voting members.  No member of the IAC may receive benefits from the Department of Athletics beyond what she or he would otherwise be entitled to if she or he were not a member of the IAC.

 

REPORTING

 

The Intercollegiate Athletics Committee shall report to the University Senate.  At a minimum this report shall be in the form of an annual written report submitted by the committee chair to the secretary of the University Senate no later than the final University Senate meeting in May. The committee shall also make additional written or oral reports to the senate as necessary. The IAC executive committee shall maintain communication with the senate through the IAC's senate appointees (who are eligible to serve on the executive committee). The executive committee shall meet with the senate president and the vice president for academic affairs at the beginning of the academic year.

 

 

 

Background to the Motion

 

The Task Force on Athletics was appointed in December 2001. In Spring, 2004, the Task Force presented the summary of their findings and 12 proposals to the Senate (available online at: http://uoregon.edu/~vpadmin/finalreport.htm). One of the key findings of the Task Force was that the purview of the IAC should be clarified so that it could more effectively “reflect the University mission and values” and be “involved in significant athletic decisions.”  The IAC brings this motion forward to enhance its educative mission, its governance function, and its consultative role with regard to university athletics, and specifically address proposals 3, 4 and 5 of the Task Force Report.

 

 

 


See also the version debated by the UO Senate
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