David Williams testified March 11 before a congressional subcommittee on athletics reform within the NCAA. Elizabeth Hoffman (right), president of the University of Colorado, also provided testimony.

by Julie Neumann
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The man accountable for all things athletic at Vanderbilt described to a congressional subcommittee March 11 five areas of collegiate athletics he believes to be in most dire need of reform.

David Williams II, vice chancellor for student life and university affairs and general counsel, told a subcommittee if the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Energy and Commerce, that there is a strong need to revise and clarify the NCAA rules, level the recruiting playing field, to maintain reasonable academic standards, to develop more fully institutional control and accountability, and to develop rules and procedures that put the student athletes first rather than the program.

“If we are not going to bring these students to universities for academic purposes, we should not bring them for athletics purposes,” said Williams. “The NCAA rules are only going to be as good as the institutional controls on the campuses. One of the reasons why Gordon Gee, our Chancellor, changed the structure of athletics on our campus was that we saw athletics as an entity was drifting away from the mainstream of our University.”

Last September Vanderbilt reorganized the Department of Athletics and moved it under the auspices of the Division of Student Life.

“We made our changes to strike the right balance for Vanderbilt,” said Williams. “It might not be the right balance for someone else but they are welcome to take what they want from it. Vanderbilt is heading down the road we need to be on.”

The committee invited several witnesses to provide testimony on recruitment practices for student athletes.

“We have a distorted sense of the importance of athletics in our culture, to the point that we are blinded by the very people we hold up as role models and heroes and do not hold them accountable for their actions,” said Donald McPherson, executive director for the Sports Leadership Institute at Adelphi University. “I think it is very important that when we talk about the laws of the land versus the laws of recruiting that the laws of land take precedence.”

Williams said that gauging success of legislation and university actions at curtailing infractions can be a nebulous proposition.

“I fear that what has start to happen on our campuses and in the culture of athletics is that we have started looking at the wrong indicators,” said Williams.

He also expressed concern that scheduled demands prohibit student athletes from experiencing well-rounded social and intellectual lives.

“Because of what happens in the world of athletics, those students are not able to have the same kind of collegiate experience as others on campus," he said. "Because of the competitiveness and business aspects we have segregated this group kids. That is the culture I think we need to break up.”

Joining Williams as witnesses were McPherson; Elizabeth Hoffman, president of the University of Colorado system; and David Berst, NCAA vice president for Division I and chairman of their task force on recruiting. U.S. Rep. Tom Osborne (R-Neb.), who served as the head football coach for the University of Nebraska from 1972 until 1997, also spoke to the committee.

“The recruiting process has improved dramatically since the 1960s,” Osborne said, citing an increased focus on academics both prior to and following enrollment, a reduction in the duration and number of recruiting visits, and strict guidelines on incentives such as money paid to players or recruiters for example.

“I don’t believe Congress should get in to regulating the NCAA,” added Osborne. “We wouldn’t ask the Washington Redskins to write tax reform. Likewise Congress needs to stick with what it understands.”

Posted 3/15/04