Campus Athletics Governance, the Faculty Role:  Principles, Proposed Rules, and Guidelines

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1.A  Principles of the FAR Position

Certain values or principles inform this outline of the FAR position.  Five of them are identified here. 

1.      Independence/integrity.  The FAR is part of the checks and balances system for administering and overseeing intercollegiate athletics.  While the FAR is in nearly all cases appointed by the President, he or she is expected to provide a perspective on intercollegiate athletics issues that reflects the institution’s faculty experience, and that is a component of the faculty’s engagement in campus athletics governance.  Both the appearance and the reality of this faculty perspective must be maintained.  This leads to a number of policies and practices that are designed to provide some distance between the FAR and the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.  This principle is implicit in the NCAA constitutional requirement that FARs not be coaches, administrators, or faculty employed or compensated by the athletics department.    It is also underlies recommendations that funding for the FAR and his or her duties not come from Intercollegiate Athletics.

2.      Stature/visibility.  According to the Handbook, the FAR is to enjoy a degree of visibility and stature “beyond the level of a typical service appointment.”  Both of these factors—the stature and the visibility—should allow the FAR to perform duties with greater effectiveness.  Any number of policies and practices can both symbolically and concretely elevate the position.  For instance, the amount of fiscal support provided, the method by which searches for the position are conducted, and the degree of FAR access to the President affect stature and visibility.

3.      Communication.  The FAR works at a crossroads where the interests of athletes, the athletics department, the conference, the NCAA, the faculty and administration, and other interest groups need to be heard.  Policies and procedures that ensure clear and regular communication between the FAR and FGBs, CABs, the academic advising center for athletes, and student body and athlete leaderships are needed. 

4.      Influence.  The FAR must carry out duties that promote the integrity of the intercollegiate athletics program at his or her institution.  To do so, this individual must be involved in the internal workings of athletics—from administration to compliance, from eligibility to student welfare.  Consequently, policies and procedures are needed that place the FAR in a position to know, advise, and act.  A clear job description that spells out FAR responsibilities and mandated membership on key committees is essential in this regard.

5.     Uncertainty/fluidity.  The position of FAR is not fixed once and for all.  Intercollegiate athletics itself is in a period of dynamism, and the role of FAR can be expected to change as well.  Consequently, policies and procedures for FARs may require revision from time to time.