Creating Synergy Between Athletics Compliance and Academic Programs - Student Workers in the Compliance Office

Contemporary NCAA athletics compliance administrators hold the reputation of the institution in their hands. They are charged with a plethora of duties including education, monitoring, and enforcement of all NCAA and conference rules and regulations on their campuses (Max, 2005; NCAA, 2000; Texas A&M, n.d.; University of Iowa, 2007). In addition to the basic job description, they are also responsible for navigating a multitude of policy interpretations, standards of review, case precedent, internal staff memoranda, and NCAA committees' philosophical approaches. Hence, it is understandable that the responsibilities of compliance directors are daunting, and oftentimes practically unfeasible to successfully fulfill without considerable support. Given the current economic climate, this support is unlikely to come in the form of new financial or human resources and thus, compliance officers must use their existing resources more efficiently, which means undergraduate and graduate students can be a valuable asset to the compliance office. The overarching purpose of this study was to explore the most effective use of students within the compliance office and how to best structure the compliance office to create synergy between athletic and academic units. It was found that 75% of respondents use student workers in their compliance operations and that that law and sport management students were the best workers. Compliance directors identified six key NCAA Bylaws most commonly monitored by students (Bylaws 13.1, 13.6, 12.4, 17.1, 13.7, and 16.2). It is through these experiences that students will gain the requisite skills needed to succeed in intercollegiate athletics administration as well as separate themselves from the pack when seeking their first full-time job