UNC Asheville's Athletics Program Awarded Certification by NCAA

UNC Asheville administrators received official notification Thursday from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) confirming the certification of the university's athletics program.

"We are very pleased to receive this official confirmation of the soundness of our intercollegiate athletics program," said UNC Asheville Chancellor Jim Mullen. "It's a good feeling when peer evaluators confirm that the dedicated work of students, faculty, staff and volunteers is achieving its intended goals. We are committed to setting the highest standard of integrity in athletics and across the university."

The designation of certified means that an institution operates its athletics program in conformity with NCAA Division I principles. The 14-member NCAA Committee on Athletics Certification, as well as a NCAA-designated peer review team, examined the primary components of UNCA's athletic program: governance and commitment to rules compliance, academic and fiscal integrity, equity, welfare and sportsmanship. In addition, the seven-member peer review team made a three-day campus visit in late October. The site visit followed the completion of UNCA's two-year self-study of the athletics program. The self-study was conducted by five committees made up of representative from all areas of campus.

"I am more than delighted with this news," said Keith Krumpe, chair of UNCA's certification steering committee and an assistant professor of chemistry. "Three hundred and twenty-five Division I institutions entered this certification cycle with the hope of ultimately being fully certified by the NCAA. Achieving this distinction without any stipulations or conditions is fantastic. We learned a lot about ourselves during this self-study and now folks outside of the university will also know that UNCA's intercollegiate athletics program is something special."

Gary Nallan, a UNCA psychology professor who serves as a faculty athletics representative to the NCAA and the Big South Conference, was gratified with the certification outcome.

"UNC Asheville's Athletics Department is doing a wonderful job. We excel in academic integrity, our student-athletes perform well in the classroom and have a high graduation rate, and we have strong leadership."

Joni Comstock, UNCA athletics director, was especially pleased.

"We are proud to hear from the NCAA that UNC Asheville has earned full certification," Comstock said. "We had a strong team of administrators, faculty, staff, coaches and student-athletes and community supporters who worked together to produce this positive result. It was a lengthy process that helped us to learn more about ourselves, to identify opportunities to be even better, and to showcase the outstanding quality of our student-athletes."

UNCA's athletics program now enters the NCAA's 10-year certification review cycle.

Media Contacts:

• Mike Gore, UNCA Sports Information Director, 828/251-6923
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526