NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State University's athletics program has been certified by the NCAA Division I Committee on Athletics Certification, maintaining NSU's perfect record since the process was adopted in 1993.
 
Northwestern State was one of 13 Division I institutions to be designated Thursday as certified, which indicates the university operates its athletics program in compliance with operating principles adopted by the Division I membership.
 
“In athletics at Northwestern State, we emphasize three primary concepts:  academic excellence, competitiveness, and integrity. The NCAA certification process, which required a tremendous amount of work by many of our student-athletes, coaches, faculty, staff and administrators, has helped to bear out that we have our priorities right,” said Northwestern State President Dr. Randall J. Webb. “We are pleased the NCAA has once again granted approval of our certification. This is reflective of a well-run program.”
 
The certification steering committee was chaired by Director of University Planning, Assessment and EEO Veronica Biscoe and Dr. Steve Horton, associate provost and dean of the College of Arts, Letters, Graduate Studies and Research. Subcommittee chairs were Dr. Ron McBride, Governance & Rules Compliance; Dr. T. Davina McClain, Academic Integrity; Frances Conine, Commitment to Equity; Marcus Jones, Commitment to Diversity and Dr. Jeff Mathews, Commitment to Student-Athlete Well-Being. Webb and Northwestern State Director of Athletics Greg Burke commended all those who helped with the certification process.
 
“The NCAA certification process confirms that on an overall basis, the priorities and emphases of the NSU Athletic Department are in the right place and at the same time, offers perspective into ways in which the program can function at an even higher level,” said Burke. “On behalf of the entire Athletic Department, words cannot express how grateful we are to the many on- and off-campus individuals who dedicated much time and effort to the tedious self-study that represented the majority of the work during the NCAA certification process.  Special acknowledgment is extended to Veronica Biscoe and Dr. Steve Horton for their diligence throughout the process.”
 
Biscoe and Horton thanked the College of Education and Human Development for its assistance along with Assistant to the Director of NSU Press Publications Beth Mann.
 
The process stretched nearly two years from start to finish, including a stoppage resulting from the shift in the certification process by the NCAA.
 
This cycle represents the last certifications started before a moratorium was placed on the program in April 2011 by the Division I Board of Directors.  In January 2011, NCAA President Mark Emmert asked staff to evaluate the program to reduce the burden on institutions, increase cost-effectiveness and improve the overall value.
 
Legislation mandating certification was adopted for all active Division I schools in 1993 to ensure the integrity of each member institution's athletics program, while assisting institutions with improvements when necessary. Each member institution is required to complete a self-study at least once every 10 years.
 
NSU, which was one of the first Division I institutions to conduct a certification review, has been through four certification processes and has received unconditional approval each time.
 
Northwestern is also one of the few Division I institutions in the region to have never received any penalties in the NCAA's annual Academic Progress Rate report.