The University of North Carolina today released "A statement of principles for athletics at UNC," the result of months of informal collaboration among faculty members on the Chapel Hill campus. The statement comes in response to a football scandal involving both academics and contact with agents that led to the suspension of more than a dozen players last season and the firing last summer of head coach Butch Davis. It was the biggest setback for the university's athletic department in a half-century, and the school still awaits sanctions from the NCAA, which wasn't satisfied last fall with UNC's offer of a $50,000 fine, surrender of nine scholarships and two years probation.
"We hope that this statement can provide a point of departure for public discussion and a foundation that the athletic program and the university as a whole can build on in the months and years ahead," Jay Smith, associate chair of history, says in the release. So far, 112 UNC faculty members have endorsed the statement, while others have maintained their distance, according to Richard Southall, director of UNC's College Sport Research Institute. "It's not a petition. It's not any demand. It's not meant to criticize athletics," Southall says. "It's like, 'Hey, let's just have a conversation about these.' These might be some principles that we can use to look to see what we're doing."
What follows is a statement excerpt.
We are justly proud of UNC's record of integrity and success in intellectual and athletic life. In light of recent developments, however, we insist that the pursuit of athletic excellence at UNC-Chapel Hill must rest on a foundation of academic integrity and should always reflect the following three principles: 1. Institutional Openness. The university should confront openly the many conflicts created by its commitment to winning in the athletic arena. The university must commit itself to honest, open, regular conversation about the divergent imperatives, and competing values, that drive athletic and academic success. All data needed to understand the athletics department, and to address the issues raised by its operations, should be readily available. 2. Educational Responsibility. The university should commit itself to providing a rigorous and meaningful education to every student. All students should be integrated fully into the life of the campus, and they should be well prepared for life after college. All students - those who participate in sports and those who do not - should be permitted and encouraged to take full advantage of the rich menu of educational opportunities available at UNC. 3. Mission Consistency. Athletics must be integrated into the common enterprise of the university. Faculty committees and administration must be empowered to oversee athletics and ensure that it supports and remains in alignment with the university's core missions. In times of hardship, the university must consistently work to preserve these core missions, even if such preservation comes at the expense of athletic success.
