NCAA Certifies Harvard Athletic Programs

Harvard's athletics programs won continued NCAA approval, following an 18 month-long review process and a July vote by the NCAA Committee on Athletics Certification.

The review, the first under a new NCAA procedure, covered academic integrity, financial integrity, governance and commitment to rules, and commitment to equity. The review consisted of a self-evaluation, headed by a steering committee of top Harvard officials and faculty, chaired by Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis, and a site visit-- last March-- by a peer-review team.

"All of this work has made me proud of the extraordinarily broadly-based athletics program that serves our students so effectively," Lewis said. Added Thomas Dingman, associate dean of Harvard College and campus liaison to the NCAA, "I'm glad that more people -- within and outside the institution -- learned of our commitment and that we were able to identify strategies for continued improvement, all as part of the self-study."

The decision means that Harvard is operating its athletics program in conformity with principles adopted by the NCAA's Division I membership. The certification process is intended to ensure integrity in an institution's athletics operations and to improve them where needed.

Though the certification is unconditional, the NCAA Committee on Athletics Certification did ask Harvard to revise its athletics mission statement to better reflect its practice of providing equitable opportunities.

The new certification process was approved for Division I institutions in 1993 as a key part of the NCAA's reform agenda. The major differences are submission to the NCAA of the self-study report and an on-site review by a team of officials from other colleges.

Harvard offers 21 men's sports and 20 women's sports, the most of any Division I school in the country. More than 1,300 undergraduates compete in intercollegiate athletics, and Harvard teams have captured many Ivy League championships and national titles over the years. As a member of the Ivy League, Harvard does not offer athletic scholarships.

The NCAA is a membership organization of colleges and universities that participate in intercollegiate athletics. Its primary purpose is to maintain intercollegiate athletics as an integral part of the educational program and the athlete as an integral part of the student body.