The purpose of the NCAA enforcement office and process is to uphold integrity and fair play regulated by more than 20 different Bylaws across categories including personnel, amateurism, recruiting, academic eligibility, financial aid, playing and practicing seasons and awards and benefits.

I specialized in NCAA rules compliance at the Division I and II level for more than a decade. The institutional self-reporting process for what are termed “secondary infractions” – those that are isolated and inadvertent in nature, or provide a limited competitive advantage – is easy to navigate but the standard penalties are almost always at the expense of the student-athlete instead of the institution.

For “major infractions” – those actions that show a lack of institutional control with regard to rules compliance – the NCAA has drawn harsh criticism because of the process it uses to investigate and apply penalties.

This bill attempts to streamline, shorten and bring both greater transparency and equity to the NCAA Enforcement office and its protocols through established deadlines to facilitate quicker investigations and a new appeals process.

On March 24, several groups of students partnered to host a night of March Madness in Mayser. The event featured food trucks, t-shirt give-a-ways, NCAA Sweet Sixteen games on screens and other fun promotions throughout the night. The highlight was a basketball game between faculty/professional staff and the students officiated by men’s basketball head coach Nick Nichay and assistant coach Nick Monroe. Additionally, members of the men’s and women’s varsity basketball teams came together for a co-ed March Madness game.

The event was very successful in terms of engagement and attendance. The College and students have put forth great effort this year to execute all-campus parties and events that are co-hosted by multiple organizations with a focus on joyful community-building.

Shout out to our phenomenal team of sports medicine professionals in Matt Keller, Jasmin Lalin, Becki Shearer and Kelsey Voigt. The group oversees the medical care of more than 600 student-athletes across 28 sports!

When you work in college athletics, you know that March Madness isn’t just a trademarked term describing the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball championships. March Madness is a way-of-life. It means traveling across the country supporting student-athletes at their winter championships while also traveling to training trips for spring sports and managing all the day-to-day needs of office work!

1. Our men’s swimming program shattered records this year and posted its best team finish in Indianapolis at the NCAA Championship (17th, 20 All-America certificates).

2. Wrestling sent Wil Gil to the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship in Detroit where he represented F&M among 330 of the nation’s best wrestlers out of the Big 10, Big 12 and Ivy League.

3. Women’s indoor track & field proved a mighty force at Ursinus, claiming gold in the 4x800 relay and setting a pair of school records en route to a 4th-place finish.

4. Squash competed fiercely in both the team championships and had representatives in the individual championships.

The Student-Athlete Leadership Council continues preparation for NCAA Division III Week April 4-10. A highlight of the week is April 6, which is National Student-Athlete Day!

Thank you to the 367 donors who contributed $98,494 to athletics on Day of Giving (March 1-2, 2022). Your gifts impact the student-athlete experience and we are grateful for the support so that our students can pursue excellence in competition, classroom and community.

Mark your calendars - this year's True Blue Weekend will be held from October 21-23!