1. How does the NCAA encourage collegiate football programs to develop a culture of
ethics and compliance?
2. It is a valid criticism that the NCAA is based more on compliance than ethical
values?
3. How can student-athletes, coaches and university administrators demonstrate a
proactive response to ethics and compliance?
Introduction
Perhaps no sport at American colleges is as popular, or as lucrative, as college football. College
football often has a significant impact on the school's culture. This is especially true for the more
successful and prolific football programs, such as Texas A&M or Notre Dame. Football has
increasingly become a big money maker for many colleges, with a significant amount of sports
evenue coming from their football programs. Within the past two years, the sports channel
ESPN made deals with certain teams to gain rights to air more games than usual. Because of this
influx of revenue, the duties of coaches have evolved beyond just coaching. In many ways, they
ecame the face of the team. Programs that show positive returns have coaches working hard to
fill seats on game day and encourage college alumni to donate to the school. The more successful
the football team, the more visibility it is given in the media. This visibility leads to greater
awareness of the college or university among the public, and schools with the best football
programs can see a greater influx of applications.
The collegiate football programs have an intangible influence within and outside their immediate
su
oundings. This is mainly seen in their fan base, composed of cu
ent students, alumni, staff,
faculty, and local businesses. For example, when the University of Alabama won its 15th
national championship, the victory was cele
ated by an enormous crowd, fireworks, and a
parade. Texas A&M University is one example of a football program that generates not only
profits but also a sense of loyalty among its fans. Texas A&M is spending over $485 million to
expand its Kyle Field stadium so that it will seat up to 102,500 spectators. Table 1 shows the
value of some of the most successful college-football programs. These games also help local
usinesses generate more revenues.
Overview of NCAA
The NCAA was formed in 1906 under the premise of protecting student–athletes from being
endangered and exploited. The Association was established with a constitution and a set of
ylaws with the ability to be amended as issues arise. As the number of competitive college
sports grew, the NCAA was divided into three Divisions, I, II, and III, to deal with the rising
complexity of college athletic programs. Universities are given the freedom to decide which
division they want to belong to based on their desired level of competitiveness in collegiate
sports.
Each Division is equipped with the power to establish a group of presidents or other university
officials with the authority to write and enact policies, rules, and regulations for their Divisions.
Each Division is ultimately governed by the President of the NCAA and the Executive
Committee. Under the Executive Committee are groups formed in each Division, such as the
Legislative Committee, as well as Cabinets and Boards of Directors.
In the early 1980s, questions began to arise concerning the level of education student–athletes
eceived. Some thought these students were held to lower academic standards so they could
focus more on their sport, which could be detrimental to the students' education and negatively
impact future career success. As a result, the NCAA strengthened the academic requirements of
student–athletes to ensure academics were taken just as seriously as athletics. It also established
the Presidents Commission, composed of presidents of universities in each Division that
collaboratively set agendas with the NCAA. Table 2 provides a list of six of the Principles for
Conduct of Intercollegiate Athletics that can be found in Article 2 of the Constitution.
Table 2
Principles for Conduct of Intercollegiate Athletics
The Principle of Institutional Control and
Responsibility
● Puts the responsibility for the operations
and behaviors of staff on the president of
the university.
The Principle of Student–Athlete Well-Being
● Requires integration of athletics and
education, maintaining a culturally
diverse and gender equitable
environment, protection of
student–athlete's health and safety,
creating an environment that is conducive
to positive coach/student–athlete
elationships, coaches and administrative
staff show honesty, fairness, and
openness in their relationships with
student–athletes, and student–athlete
involvement in decisions that will affect
them.
The Principle of Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct
● Maintains that respect, fairness, civility,
honesty, and responsibility are values that
need to be adhered to through the
establishment of policies for
sportsmanship and ethical conduct in the
athletics program which must be
consistent with the mission and goals of
the university. Everyone must be
continuously educated about the policies.
The Principle of Sound Academic Standards
● Maintains that student–athletes need to be
held to the same academic standards as
all other students.
The Principle of Rules Compliance
● Requires compliance with NCAA rules.
Notes that the NCAA will help
institutions develop their compliance
program and explains the penalty for
noncompliance.
The Principle Governing Recruiting
● Promotes equity among prospective
students and protects them from
exo
itant pressures.
Source: Adapted from National Collegiate Athletic Association, 2014–2015 NCAA ®
Division II Manual(Indianapolis, IN: National Collegiate Athletics Association, 2014).
Throughout the Constitution, the NCAA emphasizes the responsibility each university has in
overseeing its athletics department and being compliant with the terms established by its
conferences. The NCAA establishes principles, rules, and enforcement guidelines to both guide
the universities in its oversight of the athletics department as well as penalize those schools that
fail to regulate and address misconduct. In article 10 of the bylaws, a description of ethical and
unethical conduct among student–athletes is provided, along with co
esponding disciplinary
consequences if any of the conditions are violated. Honesty and sportsmanship are emphasized
as the basis of ethical conduct, while wagering, withholding information, and fraud are among
the unethical behaviors listed. Article 11 describes the appropriate behavior for athletics
personnel. Honesty and sportsmanship are again the basis for ethical behavior, but with an added
emphasis on responsibility for NCAA regulations. Article 11 cites the Head Coach as responsible
for creating an atmosphere of compliance and monitoring the behavior of his or her subordinates,
including assistant coaches and players.
The NCAA takes the enforcement of rules seriously and tries to ensure the penalties fit the
violation if misconduct does occur. The organization also makes sure the penalties are handed
down in a timely manner, not only to indicate the seriousness of the infraction but also to
maintain a credible and effective enforcement program. This method tries to co
ect or eliminate
deviant behavior while maintaining fairness and objectivity toward those members of the
Association not involved in violations. Employees (coaches and other administrative staff) are
exhorted to have high ethical standards since they work among and influence students. The
NCAA makes it a requirement that each employee engage in exemplary conduct so as not to
cause harm to the student–athletes in any way. They are also given a responsibility to cooperate
with the NCAA.
The NCAA lays out three types of violations and co
esponding penalties, depending on the
nature and scope of the violation. Secondary violations are the least severe and can result in
fines, suspensions for games, and reduction in scholarships. For major violations, some of the
penalties are the same as secondary violations, but the scope is far more severe. For example,
suspensions will be longer and fines larger. However, some penalties are specific only to major
violations, such as a public reprimand, a probationary period for up to five years, and limits on
ecruiting. The last type involves repeat violations that occur within a five-year period from the
start date of the initial violation. The penalties for repeat violations are the most severe, including
elimination of all financial aid and recruiting activities and resignation of institutional staff
members who serve on boards, committees, or in cabinets. Table 3 lists some of the more
prominent unethical practices the NCAA lists specifically concerning college football.
Table 3
Unethical Practices Prohibited by the NCAA
● Use of the helmet as a weapon.
● Targeting and initiating contact. Players,
coaches, and officials should emphasize
the elimination of targeting and initiating
contact against a defenseless opponent
and/or with the crown of the helmet.
● Using nontherapeutic drugs in the game
of football.
● Unfair use of a starting signal, called
“Beating the ball.” This involves
deliberately stealing an advantage from
the opponent. An honest starting signal is
needed, but a signal that has for its
purpose starting the team a fraction of a
second before the ball is put in play, in
the hope that it will not be detected by the
officials, is illegal.
● Feigning an injury. An injured player
must be given full protection under the
ules, but feigning injury is dishonest,
unsportsmanlike, and contrary to the
spirit of the rules.
● Talking to an opponent in any manner
that is demeaning, vulgar, or abusive,
intended to incite a physical response or
ve
ally put an opponent down.
● For a coach to address, or permit anyone
on his bench to address,
uncomplimentary remarks to any official
during the progress of a game, or to
indulge in conduct that might incite
players or spectators against the officials,
is a violation of the rules of the game and
must likewise be considered conduct
unworthy of a member of the coaching
profession.
Source: Adapted from National Collegiate Athletics Association, Football 2013 and 2014
Rules and Interpretations (Indianapolis, IN: National Collegiate Athletics Association, 2014).
The NCAA incorporates a compliance approach to ethics by developing and enforcing rules to
keep the games fair and respectful of student–athletes' rights. The NCAA Committee on
Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct identified respect and integrity as two critical elements in
the NCAA 2013 and 2014 Football Rules