NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY Commitment to NCAA Compliance The Northern Arizona University Department of Athletics and the Compliance Office have the following safeguards in place to ensure that the University maintains a commitment to NCAA compliance. Staffing zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA & Reporting Lines Northern Arizona University maintains a staff of two full-time NCAA Compliance Officers. The department is headed by the Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance, who is assisted by the Compliance Coordinator. The Faculty Athletics Representative at NAU is also closely involved with the NCAA compliance process, including monitoring student-athlete eligibility. In January of 2011, reporting lines for the Compliance Office were moved from the Athletics Department to the President's Office. The Compliance Office now reports directly to Dr. MJ McMahon, who is the Executive Vice President and also serves as NAU's NCAA liaison. The Compliance Office also maintains daily interaction with the coaches, athletics staff and Director of Athletics. Educational Efforts The NAU Compliance Office relies upon a variety of educational methods to ensure that both coaches and staff members are kept informed and up-to-date on NCAA legislation and other important compliance issues. • Monthly Newsletter: Every month the NAU Compliance Office produces a newsletter designed to provide rules education and updates on important dates and topics. The newsletter is distributed to all athletics staff, members of the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee and contacts from offices across campus (Financial Aid, Residence Life, ect), • Monthly Coaches Compliance Workshop: Every month the Compliance Office staff prepares an educational presentation related to a different compliance related topic. Each coaching staff is required to have at least one staff member present at the educational session. • Booster Education: Two times per year an updated compliance pamphlet is sent out to all members of the Lumberjack Athletic Association (LAA). In August of 2011, the NAU Compliance Office held an educational luncheon for past and present members of the LAA Board of Directors. • Annual Report to the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee: At the end of each academic year, the Assistant AD/ Compliance presents an annual report to NAU's faculty oversight committee, the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee. The presentation serves as an educational session and reports on the number of secondary violations reported by the department during the previous academic year. Outside Review of Compliance In order to ensure that all NAU policies remain up to date and the department is properly adhering to NCAA rules, the NAU Compliance Office is regularly subject to review from outside groups. In the fall of 201 0, Jaynee Nadolski, Assistant Commissioner for Compliance at the BigSky Conference, conducted a comprehensive review of the NAU Compliance Office's policies and procedures. As part of her review, Ms. Nadolski visited the NAU campus for two days to meet with coaches, athletics staff as well as staff from other departments on campus such as the Financial Aid office and the Admissions office. In the spring of 2011 the NAU Compliance Office was subject to a review conducted by the NAU Office of Internal Audit This examination included a complete review of student-athlete financial aid, including tuition, room, board and book expenses. The other area that the auditors reviewed this spring was student-athlete employment. Both of these reviews have been conducted in addition to the Athletics Departments ongoing efforts to update materials related to the NCAA Self Study. Monitoring Eligibility Eligibility issues for all of NAU's student-athletes are monitored by the Eligibility Committee. Members of the Eligibility Committee include the Faculty Athletics Representative, the two Compliance Staff members and NAU's two Academic Advisors. All eligibility changes are tracked on the Eligibility Status Report (ESR). Whenever there is a change for a specific team, a new ESR is created and distributed to the coaching staff, Athletic Training staff, Business Office staff, Equipment Room staff, Weight Room staff, Sports Information staff and the sport supervisor. Directors in each of these areas rely on the ESR when preparing NAU's teams for practice and competition. The Equipment Room staff will not issue a student-athlete gear for practice or competition unless a student is cleared on the ESR. The sport supervisor will not approve travel for a student-athlete not cleared on the ESR, and the Business Office will not issue per diem to a student-athlete that is not cleared on the ESR. All student-athletes, at the conclusion of their athletic eligibility, participate in an oral exit interview. The interviews are conducted by the Faculty Athletics Representative and either the Director of Athletics or the designated sport supervisor. Exit interviews allow student-athletes the opportunity to reflect on their athletic experience and offer feedback on areas where the Athletics Department is successful as well as areas in which it can improve.
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