MU’s athletic department re-certified by NCAA

After an almost two-year self inspection, the University of Missouri Department of Athletics was re-certified by the NCAA.

“I am extraordinarily pleased to receive the report from the NCAA Division I Committee that MU, based on our athletics self-study, has been certified,” MU Chancellor Brady Deaton said in a press release. “This report reaffirms the hard work, integrity and commitment shown by everyone involved in our athletics program.”

The study, which began in December 2004, looked at several criteria to determine whether the MU Department of Athletics was compliant with the NCAA’s rules. MU was one of three schools announced, along with Bowling Green State University (Ohio) and Louisiana Tech University, to receive full certification. The University of Texas at El Paso was certified with a condition.

The criteria that were inspected were: governance and commitment to rules compliance, academic integrity, equity, and student-athlete well-being.

The self-study committee was chaired by MU professor Michael Devaney. The committee also included Deaton and Director of Athletics Mike Alden, among others.

“We were a great team, and I would like to thank all for their substantial effort to bring this 10-year certification about,” Devaney said. “Special recognition is due to Mary Austin for her many contributions on several fronts and our Chancellor, Brady Deaton, who really ‘carried the ball’ in the final phases of the process.”

When MU’s report was finished, it was reviewed by the NCAA Committee on Athletics Certification. Then, MU was visited and was subjected to a peer review by a group of representatives from Division I schools.

“Today’s athletics programs are complex operations and benefit from the comprehensive review conducted by the NCAA and the peer review team,” Alden said.

“To receive this certified status is both fulfilling and reflective of the commitment our staff has to upholding the principles of institutional control and responsibility. This result is demonstrative of the cooperative relationship the department has with the rest of our campus community.”