NCAA Certification

In the fall of 2010 President John J. DeGioia announced that Georgetown was undertaking a year-long, campus-wide study of our athletics programs as part of the NCAA Division I athletics certification program. At that time President DeGioia appointed Jane E. Genster, senior counselor to the president, to chair the steering committee that is leading the self-study.

The steering committee approved a draft report in April 2011 after dozens of university colleagues contributed to the review and evaluation required by the self study process.

Members of the Georgetown community are welcome to share their comments with the steering committee by sending an email message to NCAAcertification@georgetown.edu. 

Valuable Opportunity

NCAA Division I institutions are required to conduct a self-study every 10 years, and Georgetown completed its last report in 2001. The study covers governance and commitment to rules compliance, academic integrity, gender and diversity issues and student-athlete well being.

“NCAA certification provides Georgetown with a very valuable opportunity to ensure the integrity of our athletics program and to increase campus-wide knowledge and understanding of that program,” DeGioia says. “We take the process very seriously and hope that it will both affirm our program’s many strengths and help us identify areas for improvement.”

The steering committee will be assisted by three subcommittees – the governance and commitment to rules compliance committee will be chaired by philosophy professor Wayne Davis; academic integrity by School of Foreign Service professor Robert Cumby and gender, diversity and student-athlete well-being by Rosemary Kilkenny, vice president for institutional diversity and equity.

The steering committee and the subcommittees include representatives from the faculty and student bodies as well as alumni and staff, including athletics department personnel. The process will include opportunities for communication with and input from all members of the university community.

Focus Areas

“This process will better enable us to understand what is working and where we need to focus to continue our efforts to enhance the student-athlete experience at Georgetown and our intercollegiate athletics programs,” said Lee Reed, director of athletics.

Following a two-year pilot project, the NCAA Division I membership overwhelmingly supported the program and its standards at its 1993 NCAA Convention and has, since 1997, required certification every 10 years.

Certification Process

When Georgetown has concluded its study, an external team of reviewers will conduct a three- or four-day evaluation visit. The reviewers include peers from other colleges, universities or conference offices.

The peer-review team will then report back to the NCAA Division I Committee on athletics certification, after which the NCAA will determine Georgetown's certification status and announce the decision publicly. Sanctions are imposed for institutions that fail to conduct a comprehensive self-study or correct problems.

The three options of certification status are certified, certified with conditions and not certified. Institutions have the opportunity to correct deficient areas after having its status determined, and those that do not take necessary corrective actions may be ruled ineligible for NCAA championships.

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. Activities of the NCAA membership include formulating rules of play for NCAA sports, conducting national championships, adopting and enforcing standards of eligibility and studying all phases of intercollegiate athletics.