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NCAA Compliance History
Other Programs
• Art Core • Business Administration Major, Sports
Management Concentration, BAS • Certificate of Sexual Health for Public
Health Education Majors • Health Care Management Minor • Kinesiology Major, Pre-Occupational
Therapy Concentration, BS • Music Major, Composition Emphasis, BA • Music Major, Performance Emphasis, BA • Professional Studies, BPS • Public Health Education Major, BAS
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VIII. Show the institutional administrative structure. To whom does the athletic director report directly? Show evidence of CEO control and supervision.
The President has ultimate responsibility and final authority for the Mississippi University for Women Intercollegiate Athletics program. According to the By-Laws of the Board of Trustees, the President shall have charge of and control over the University, its policies, officers, faculty and staff, curriculum, students, and direction of the business of the University. The supervisory authority of the President is recognized in the Department of Athletics Policies and Procedures Manual, the StudentAthlete Handbook and the Compliance Manual.
The President receives updates directly through the NCAA, the President attended the NCAA Convention and additional educational sessions, as well as any additional mandatory meetings scheduled through the NCAA.
The President meets regularly with the Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation, to whom she has delegated day-to-day oversight of Athletics. Through the Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation, the President receives reports from the Athletics area on a regular basis, supervises all Athletics programs and holds ultimate accountability for the area. The Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation reports on a number of aspects. Listed are examples of reporting: personnel, faculty athletics representative engagement, University engagement, NCAA reports, diversity, equity, inclusion strategic priorities, education sessions, finance, compliance, eligibility, development, event management, community and overall engagement and experience.
The President also has regularly scheduled meetings with the Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR). The FAR meets regularly one on one with the Director of Athletics, the Athletics and Campus 22
Recreation Department, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), the Intercollegiate Athletics Board and is provided a number of reports especially any mandated by the NCAA, additional examples of meeting agendas and documentation include reviewing the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) information, academic excellence and concerns, the sports science institute for preventing catastrophic injury and death in collegiate athletes, the role of Athletic Training, COVID-19 policies and procedures and engagement of faculty, staff, students and community.
The President has fiscal control over the Department of Athletics and Campus Recreation. The fiscal activity of the Department of Athletics and Campus Recreation are subject to the same fiscal requirements as all other departments at the University. As with all other departments, fiscal documents such as budgets are processed through the University’s CFO. Revenues to and expenditures from the Department of Athletics and Campus Recreation are subject to the internal audit processes of the University. All disbursements of gifts are in accordance with policies of the University with the donor’s restrictions, and in compliance with NCAA regulations.
An extension which demonstrates her interest in intercollegiate athletics can be observed by the President’s attendance at games, both home and away. This support demonstrates both a caring attitude toward the student-athletes, as well as a desire to get a first-hand view of how our programs are functioning.
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IX. Provide institutional financial review for the most recent fiscal year and identify the date the year begins.
July 1, 2020-June 30, 2021
Fall Enrollment: 2704
Operating Revenues:
Tuition & Fees $ 20,464,452 Discount $ (6,525,814) Bad Debt expense: $246,255 Net Tuition & Fees $ 13,692,383
Auxiliary and other revenue 4,184,658
CAPITAL Grants and Gifts: 3,378.859
Salaries, Wage & Benefits: $29,641,326 Travel: $345,833 Contractual services $8,362,457
Operating expense total 52,260,689
Operating loss: $359,787
Net Position, Beginning of the Year: $92,043,252
Net Position, End of the Year: $91,683,465
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INSTITUTIONAL INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS
I. Provide the history and timeline on full NCAA Division III membership including conference affiliations.
Chartered in 1884, “The W” has been providing educational opportunities in Mississippi for more than 138 years! Founded as the country’s first state-supported college for women, MUW became coeducational in 1982. The Mississippi University for Women has a rich history and tradition of intercollegiate competition, dating back to 1909, filling the record books and University almanacs. This includes an AIAW national championship in women’s basketball in 1971.
From 1982-2003, MUW had an NCAA Division II affiliation, playing as an independent from 1982-93 and joining the Gulf South Conference in 1993-2003, competing in women’s basketball, softball, women’s tennis, and women’s volleyball.
MUW did not sponsor intercollegiate athletics for the seasons of 2003-2017. In 2002, a tornado touched down in the city of Columbus and the MUW campus took a direct hit, wiping out our gymnasium and most of the archives, trophies and other athletic-related materials. A decision was made that athletics would be dropped after the 2002-03 season.
In 2011, upon the arrival of the fourteenth president of The W, Dr. Jim Borsig, the University immediately began to explore potential opportunities for the return of athletics.
In June of 2012, Dr. Borsig began the process of returning athletics to the campus by assembling a committee of faculty, staff, alumni, students and community leaders to gauge interest in resuming the athletics program. By that fall, the committee reported on its findings and a second committee was formed to investigate the academic and financial feasibility involved in beginning a new athletics program after nearly a decade hiatus. From the first step and throughout the process to current time, Dr. Borsig maintained an open line of communication with faculty, staff, and the Columbus community on the process, allowing for a total and unwavering buy-in.
In 2014, The W employed the services of Athletics Staffing & Consultants (ASC), an independent firm charged with completing a comprehensive feasibility study for the University to determine and confirm the practicality, achievability and affordability of re-instituting an intercollegiate athletics program for men and women. This report provided analysis of each of the possible athletic affiliations and included information on conference identity, membership requirements, and a SWOT analysis of The W in each association/ division (NCAA DII, DIII, NAIA). It was the recommendation in June of 2014 by ASC for The W to move forward with membership in NCAA Division III based off of the University’s current mission, objectives, and needs for athletics. Most notably, Division III mirrors the student-centered focus The W currently embraces. 25
In June of 2016, Dr. Borsig announced the hiring of a Director of Athletics, after an exhaustive 6-8 month search, Jason Trufant was charged with re-instituting the athletic program from the ground up. In the interim, Owls Athletics joined the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA). Our provisional Year 1 was during the 2019-20 season. In the middle of Year 2, there was a change in the Athletic Director position; the softball coach became our interim athletic director for the second semester. Unfortunately, the result was that our Year 2 report was a casualty of turnover and a report was submitted to the NCAA III Membership Committee which was not thorough. While wellintentioned, the insufficient report resulted in MUW having to repeat Year 2 in 2021-22. With current Director of Athletics Jennifer Claybrook taking the reins of MUW Athletics in July of 2021, a correct, more complete and robust Year 2 report is being done for 2021-22 to ensure our advancement in the NCAA III membership process.
In June 2021, it was announced that The W was officially accepted into the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The W is set to begin competition in all 17 men’s and women’s conference sponsored championship sports in our planned inaugural year as full NCAA III members (2023-24).
However, we are interested in pursuing membership into the Collegiate Conference of the South, because of the high academic and athletic standards of the membership, as well as the geographic location of the member institutions.
Of the four full seasons since intercollegiate athletics came back to The W, two of those years experienced significant disruption due to COVID; several of our programs have really only had one “normal” season under their belt. If one thinks about it, in many ways, we are still a very young and growing athletics program. 26
II. Detail the institution's compliance with all NCAA rules and regulations. Detail the compliance education process of coaches. Provide a list of any NCAA violations committed in the past five years and institutional athletic eligibility requirements (initial and continuing).
NCAA III compliance is vital and included throughout our processes and procedures. From the initial experience to the entirety of the experience the Mississippi University for Women is committed to being compliant with all NCAA rules and regulations. It is an exhaustive process and one we will continue to focus on for continued dedication and commitment.
It begins with following the established policies and procedures and continued education. Each University Department is responsible for developing their own processes and procedures to which this information is provided and evaluated to ensure compliance with the NCAA Division III. Also, the NCAA Division III provides a variety of educational opportunities for us to utilize, as well as the NCAA Membership Athletic Director Mentor and the Faculty Athletics Representative Mentor. To date a number of constituent groups, to include, but not limited to the President, the President’s Cabinet, Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation, Compliance Director, Coaches, Registrar, Director of Financial Aid, Director of Admissions, Faculty Athletics Representative, Faculty, Staff, Students, StudentAthletes, SAAC and outside constituent groups have either been provided education directly through the various modules or have received the information from those that have participated in these sessions. Some examples of educational experience include, but are not limited to the NCAA III videoconferences to include hot topics and updates, the NCAA financial aid videoconference, the Getting into the Game educational tool, attendance at the NCAA III Convention (by the President, Faculty Athletics Representative, Compliance Director and Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation), the 2022 FAR orientation, the monthly updates and NCAA III regional rules. The Members of the President’s Cabinet are, or are the supervisors of, financial aid, admissions, the registrar, student life, and academics are all present for the weekly cabinet meetings. All areas have received information, guidelines about the NCAA III rules and regulations. All areas outside of athletics are informed and empowered to follow these rules. If any attempt to bend or break these rules, the Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation needs to be informed immediately, so that proper responses may occur. Educational sessions and updates from athletics are given as needed. These areas are also sent compliance updates as needed to ensure they stay informed of changed. The Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation communicates often with each of the areas, so that rules are followed.
The athletics staff is provided with a plethora of resources in a variety of ways including, but not limited to PowerPoints, videos, email, websites and hardcopies. The resources include, but are not limited to the NCAA.org, to include the NCAA.org/sports/d3, access and location of the NCAA Division III manual online, the Staff Handbook, the Athletic Training Manual, the Compliance Manual, the Student-Athlete Handbook, the location of each of these documents on the athletics website, as well as the coaches page located on the website which is dedicated to providing 27
information as well as a number of required documents and forms. An example would be the forms needing to be completed for either an official or unofficial visit for prospective student-athletes. The coach submits this request in advance of the visit (a seven-day advance request is highly encouraged, but exceptions can be made if proper procedures and documentation can all be completed). The request comes directly to the Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation who reviews, approves and documents the visits, as well as follows up with the staff about the visits to ensure compliance with the NCAA.
The Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation, the Assistant Athletic Director and the Compliance Director all review the regulations set forth in NCAA Division III. During our Athletic and Campus Recreation Department meetings, time is allotted to review NCAA III rules, regulations, requirements, updates, etc. This year we have set time aside in each meeting to discuss eligibility, sportsponsorship, playing/practice season, social media requirements, recruiting process and procedures, amateurism, NIL, legislation, the NCAA constitution and much, much more. We meet at least once a month as a group and as needed; however, this fall we anticipate an increase to our number of meetings. However, learning is not limited to during meetings or when one has a question, active learning should occur every day. It is the responsibility of all of our coaches to grow and continue to educate themselves. Also, every year all coaches are required to take the NCAA DIII test and to pass with an 80% test result. We utilize the results of these tests to follow up on commonly missed questions and topics to focus on for our meetings and for the Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation to focus on during the monthly individual meetings with each head coach.
For example, hiring coaches and staff who have an understanding, appreciation and commitment to the NCAA III philosophy including the rules and regulations which guide our department and University is paramount. In the hiring process, we inquire, listen and observe our prospective coach and staff candidates to ensure that they fully understand the commitment to NCAA III compliance at the Mississippi University for Women. This attention to detail has enabled us to seek out candidates who strive to work within the framework of the NCAA III and in a collaborative manner. The hiring process allows any prospective candidates to be screened through numerous interviews, which includes interviews with the Faculty Athletics Representative, about past experiences and trainings specific to the NCAA III rules and regulation. This intentional process has allowed us to focus on maximizing our attention on the details of operating a highly successful compliance focused department. The Mississippi University for Women seeks to hire those with a proven track record of success in following the rules and then a track record of success in competition. Winning has to be done the right way!
Once hired, the new staff member, will be supported by a number of individuals. The entire athletic department will work to bring them up to date with the Mississippi University for Women compliance systems. The Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation will meet with them to go over a general overview of department guidelines and procedures and how we implement the NCAA guidelines in a day to day compacity. The Assistant Athletic Director will meet next and discuss in detail the aspects of merging university standards and NCAA best practices. The Compliance Director will meet with the 28
coach to show the in-house processes for working and recording NCAA compliance. This will include but is not limited to Team rosters, practice logs, playing seasons, etc. Lastly, and moving forward the new staff member will be partnered with a returning staff member and identified as their mentor for the first year as they develop a deeper understanding of the rules, regulations, requirements and responsibilities.
The Mississippi University for Women fosters a collaborative environment throughout the department. We have broken our coaches into 2 “PODS”, each pod has a common area and the coach’s individual offices. This is done with an open-door policy and the mindset that we are all in this together. Each coach shares ideas and concerns in a setting that promotes open dialogue. We strive to eliminate any barriers that tend to divide a department and enable our coaches to freely discuss the various aspects of our craft. It is not uncommon to find a group of coaches from a wide variety of sports discussing the numerous elements of our profession. If we limit the free exchange of ideas and learning to only occur in meetings, then we would miss out on utilizing the shared experiences of all coaches.
The education of the NCAA III rules and regulations are evident throughout the recruiting process. As a prospective student-athlete applies to the institution, the coaches, the Compliance Director and the Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation observe their progress on the software Slate. This program allows members of the University including head coaches to check on every prospective student-athlete as they turn in paperwork to the Admissions Department. Once the prospective student-athlete clears all admission requirements and has been accepted to the University by the Admissions Department, the prospective student-athlete is offered the opportunity to sign a Celebratory Signing Form. If the prospective student-athlete decides to participate, the sport specific coach send the Celebratory Signing Form to the prospective student-athlete and it is the decision of the prospective student-athlete whether to have a public signing or a private signing.
If the prospective student-athlete is an incoming Freshman, the Compliance Director will verify the incoming status of the prospective student-athlete to ensure that all the information of the prospective student-athlete is added to that year’s athletic team list for that sport. The list is designed so that the Compliance Director, Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation and Assistant Athletics Director are able to identify each student-athlete and their scheduled class hours for the semester. The list will be updated throughout the school year to reflect status, grade point average, enrolled hours and to keep track of the eligibility of the student-athlete.
If the prospective student-athlete is a Transfer student, then once the Compliance Director will send a Transfer Verification Report Form to all prior institutions that the prospective student-athlete has attended. The declared institutions will be verified through our Registrar’s office to ensure that all institutions have been contacted. Any gaps in institutional records will need to be explained by the prospective student-athlete. Once the Transfer Verification Report Form is returned, the student-athlete information sheet is updated to reflect the entirety of the prospective student-athlete’s academic and 29
athletic collegiate careers up to that point. Eligibility is based on several factors; including but not limited to grades, disciplinary conduct enrolled semesters and seasons of participation.
If another institution fails to return the Transfer Verification Report Form, then the Compliance Director will request all transcripts from the Registrar’s office to verify the eligibility of the prospective studentathlete. This is a bit more time-consuming as the Compliance Director will need to account for the entire record of the prospective student-athlete from graduating high school until coming to the Mississippi University for Women.
At the beginning of the academic year, the athletic department will meet with each team to inform or review policies, procedures and expectations from an institutional and NCAA perspective. StudentAthletes will be guided through the informational session and notified of the documents and committed required by the NCAA and the University. All paperwork must be submitted to the Compliance Director prior to the start of any athletic-related activities. An internal checklist is completed per team, identifying to the administrative and coaching staffs who is eligible to participate. Student-athletes who have not given not been given full clearance will not be permitted to participate in team or individual activities. If a student-athlete is unavailable to attend the meetings, they will meet directly with the Compliance Director to receive the necessary information and to submit all documents and requirements.
At the start of each semester, the enrolled hours for each student-athlete is reviewed by the Compliance Director and each team’s coach. At the mid-term of the semester, the grades will be reviewed by the Compliance Director, Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation, and the sport specific head coach to communicate the current academic standing and if necessary identify ways to help student-athletes access the necessary personnel (i.e. professors, student success navigators, advisor) and/or resources (i.e. tutors, counselors, writing center) needed to assist ensure that all student-athletes are in good standing and are on track to complete the semester with a passing grade. Upon completion of the semester, the Compliance Director will compile all the grades and hours passed to determine the eligibility of the student-athlete for the next semester. Coaches will be notified of the grades and student-athletes will be contacted about any changes to their eligibility status and any next steps in the process. 30
NCAA Violations
Date Submitted Sport
Violation
10/27/2020 Men’s Track, Indoor Eligibility-Head Men’s Track and Field Indoor Coach allowed a student-athlete to practice without being enrolled fulltime
Classification
Secondary/Level III Violations
7/09/2020 Women’s Tennis Recruiting-Head Women’s Tennis Coach was present at the time of the prospective student-athlete’s celebratory signing day
3/12/2020 Softball Athletically Related Activities, Playing Seasons-Head Softball Coach-had an individual practice session out of declared practice/playing season
1/27/2020 Women’s Soccer Recruiting-Head Coach for Women’s Soccer sent celebratory signing letters to two prospective student-athletes prior to full acceptance. Secondary/Level III Violations
Secondary/Level III Violations
Secondary/Level III Violations 31
