Calling the current athletic culture at colleges nationwide "unsustainable," Vanderbilt University Chancellor Gordon Gee announced a major restructuring of the school's athletic department earlier this month.
As a result of the reorganization, Vanderbilt no longer will have an athletic director. Instead, varsity athletics will fall under the newly created department of student athletics, recreation and wellness, part of the department of student life, which also includes intramural and club sports. The university will continue to compete in the NCAA and as a member of the Southeastern Conference.
Gee said in a press release that these changes will help to offer student athletes a more complete college experience.
"For too long, college athletics has been segregated from the core mission of the university," he said. "Nothing short of a revolution will stop what has become a crisis of conscience and integrity for colleges and universities in this country."
Recently, students, coaches and administrators at colleges across the country have come under fire for low athlete graduation rates, allegations of unethical conduct and other NCAA rules violations.
In a highly publicized case earlier this year, a star running back was suspended for receiving perks at Ohio State, where Gee served as president from 1990 to 1998.
Responding to the announcement in a press release, NCAA President Myles Brand said the surprise decision was a step in the right direction for college athletics.
"I applaud the action," Brand said. "It will be a model for how to embed the operations that have been isolated from the university with similar functions throughout the campus."
The announcement came as a shock to Rod Williamson, assistant athletic director for communications at Vanderbilt, who said that while the changes are welcome, issues of student athlete isolation have been more of a concern at other institutions.
"We were one of the more integrated schools in the NCAA before this decision," he said. "I guess [Gee] wanted to make a statement about reform and the importance of reform."
Vanderbilt long has been considered a role model in the NCAA, Williamson added. Its only rules violation came in 1991 in the form of an unethical conduct charge against the women's basketball coach. The university instituted self-imposed sanctions as a result of the incident.
Although Vanderbilt's athletic philosophy has produced a program that is ranked in the top 20 by the NCAA, its teams in high-profile sports such as football and basketball have not fared as well.
Vanderbilt's football team currently is on an 18-game conference losing streak, having lost 27 of its last 28 games against conference opponents.
Despite this deficiency, Williamson said Vanderbilt would not resort to the recruitment of "bogus athletes" in order to boost its reputation.
"Yes we want to win, but we don't want to win at any cost," he said. "There are those in this conference that think the university exists for a football team."
According to the NCAA, Vanderbilt's football players lead the SEC with a 91 percent graduation rate, which is even higher than the school's overall student rate of 84 percent.
Brand said the university's decision to focus on the academic aspect of student athletics is a positive trend.
"It is a major shift in the collegiate sports culture," he said in a press release. "Their model may not be right for everyone right now, but it is sure to be a topic of discussion as universities manage their athletics programs in the future."
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