One Provision From Division I’s Recent Infractions Process Overhaul Should Grab The Attention of Division I Head Coaches Everywhere
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New Infractions Policies & Head Coach Responsibility: One Provision from Division I’s Recent Infractions Process Overhaul Should Grab the Attention of Division I Head Coaches Everywhere
Executive Summary
The Division I Council adopted a package of three proposals that collectively will overhaul the Division I infractions process.
One of the adopted changes includes phasing out the Independent Accountability Review Process.
The newly adopted infractions process aims to improve efficiencies around the process to induce timelier case resolutions and re-set the aggravating and mitigating factors that impact penalties, among other areas.
The Head Coach Responsibility standard in Bylaw 11’s Conduct of Personnel section was changed as part of these adopted proposals.
Enhanced assessment around Head Coaches’ specific actions to promote compliance and monitor their staff is one area in focus.
Head Coaches should add self-starting Compliance quality control into their weekly calendars.
Head Coaches should be spot-checking their staff on compliance-related matters, consulting Compliance routinely, and documenting such efforts of being hands on.
Head Coaches' proactive efforts are the currency with which to respond to Committee on Infractions’ assessment of Head Coach Responsibility.
The Division I Council recently adopted a package of three proposals that were born from concepts and recommendations developed by the Division I Transformation Committee and the Division I Board of Directors Infractions Process Committee. The adopted proposals have an effective date of January 1, 2023, including phasing out the Independent Accountability Review Process (IARP) outside current pending cases in the IARP.
Although there is a lot to unpack from the three newly adopted proposals, this week's focus is on the Head Coach Responsibility provision changes. Specifically, the legislative changes to the “Responsibility of Head Coach” bylaw tied to the infractions process, seen here:
One key takeaway from these changes is the addition (in bold) of codifying a new step in which the NCAA Enforcement staff “…will gather information regarding whether the head coach promoted an atmosphere of compliance within the program and monitored the activities of all institutional staff members.” This provision outlines a new, more granular step that puts the Head Coach involved with an alleged Level I or Level II major infraction case under a brighter microscope from the Division I Committee on Infractions.
Although Head Coach Responsibility has been woven into the fabric of the Division I legislation and the infractions process for years, having NCAA Enforcement compile a written assessment of what the Head Coach did (or didn’t do) to promote an atmosphere of compliance and monitor activities takes this to new heights.
Head Coaches should be taking note of this change as it impacts the Committee on Infractions’ deliberations on penalties that could apply to the Head Coach. Sometimes infractions cases that touched on Head Coach Responsibility included case by case review of what the Head Coach did or did not do in terms of promoting compliance and monitoring staff compared to what the Head Coach should have done.
The NCAA published a Head Coach Responsibility brochure in recent years that spells out activities Head Coaches should be doing in terms of promoting compliance activities: monitoring their staff and documenting compliance-related activities tied to their sport program. These same proactive efforts have been cited in prior Level I and II cases as the pathway for Head Coaches to rebut and respond to the possibility of stiffer penalties, like the head coach serving a multi-game suspension. This brochure was last updated, however, in April 2018. The newly adopted infractions process including this Head Coach Responsibility provision takes effect January 1, 2023.
It will be interesting to see if the NCAA’s Head Coach Responsibility resource brochure gets updated in lock-step with this legislative change or if, alternatively, it gets updated and informed after newer Level I and II cases (January 1, 2023, or later) get processed by the Division I Committee on Infractions under the new infractions structure.
Head Coaches, especially in larger staffed sports, often delegate day-to-day work out of necessity. The reality with this bylaw though, is that Head Coaches cannot delegate the oversight of compliance for his or her program without inviting the risk of much harsher penalties from the COI should the Head Coach be tied to a Level I or II infractions case. This new provision in the infractions process reflects an effort to make a more quantified analysis of what the Head Coach did to fulfill this expectation.
Head Coaches will need to be deliberate about building into their weekly schedule specific actions and compliance quality control and more documentation of the same on what they did to promote compliance, spot check their staff, consult with Compliance and the AD, and otherwise be more than reactive. Head Coaches’ documented proactive efforts around compliance matters are the currency with which to respond to Committee on Infractions’ assessment of Head Coach Responsibility.
Athletics Veritas is presented for information purposes only and should not be considered advice or counsel on NCAA compliance matters. For guidance on NCAA rules and processes, always consult your university’s athletics compliance office, conference office, and/or the NCAA.
