Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State Athletics Gains 10-year NCAA Certification
4/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | General
April 16, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - California State University, Fresno's Division I Athletics program has received NCAA certification, the NCAA announced today.
Dr. John D. Welty, Fresno State president, said the NCAA's announcement on Thursday, April 16, "affirms the quality of our Athletics program and demonstrates that it continues to move in a positive direction."
The purpose of athletics certification is to ensure integrity in an institution's athletics program and to assist universities in improving their athletics departments.
"NCAA certification is a monumental task and it is gratifying that Fresno State has been certified without conditions," said Athletics Director Thomas Boeh. "In short, this designation serves as a declaration from the NCAA that Fresno State is doing things right and confirmation that we have indeed entered into a new era in Bulldog Athletics."
Welty said the certification positions Fresno State Athletics "to continue its leadership role in the Western Athletic Conference."
"I am very appreciative of the hard work the campus community and Bulldog supporters in the general community did to accomplish this," Welty said.
Each Division I athletics program must conduct a certification process every 10 years to ensure that it is in compliance with basic NCAA operating principles in governance and is following NCAA rules on academic integrity, equity and student-athlete well-being.
The 18-month process at Fresno State began in fall 2007. It included a self-study, peer group review and report to the NCAA Committee on Athletics Certification. During that time, more than 50 faculty, staff, community members, coaches, student-athletes and Athletics administrators served on several committees reviewing the Athletics operation and its adherence to NCAA principles.
"We are very grateful for the dozens of members of the community and Athletics staff that dedicated thousands of hours towards this endeavor throughout the past two years," Boeh said. "We would also especially like to thank Paul Oliaro for his exceptional guidance as the Chair of the Certification Process Steering Committee, Betsy Mosher for her in-house expertise and Mike Botwin, Jan Parten, Dennis Nef, Irene Allen and Michelle Nelson for their critical unwavering leadership and support throughout the process."
A 19-member campus steering committee for the process was chaired by Dr. Paul Oliaro, vice president for Student Affairs.
"With broad-based participation of faculty, staff, students and community members in certification, there is greater awareness of the many ways our athletics program meets - and often exceeds - NCAA standards," Oliaro said. "It also affirms that intercollegiate athletics at Fresno State contributes to the quality of life not only for our student-athletes but also for our campus and our local community."
The self-study report was submitted to the NCAA in May 2008. In October, the campus was visited by a peer-review site team.
Fresno State's certification was among 35 universities announced by the NCAA on Thursday. NCAA legislation mandating athletics certification was adopted in 1993. Related link:
NCAA news release: http://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?ContentID=48692
