An operational review or assessment, which is a top-down evaluation of an institution's intercollegiate athletics program, is one method university administrators can utilize to proactively identify and correct potential legal, operational and NCAA issues. In fact, a scan of media articles and legal decisions from 2010 revealed that intercollegiate athletics programs are just as likely to face serious legal and operational issues as a major NCAA infractions case. The unscientific scan, which was conducted through an online search engine and a legal database by the Michael L. Buckner Law Firm on January 29, 2011, identified over 150,000 media stories and legal cases involving intercollegiate athletics programs. The exercise produced numerous categories of legal, operational and NCAA issues that affected athletics programs in 2010, including:

• NCAA enforcement/infractions/reinstatement cases
• Title IX and gender-equity lawsuits
• Retaliation lawsuits
• Negligent supervision lawsuits
• Racial discrimination lawsuits
• Breach of contract lawsuits
• Student-athletes' social networking issues
• Ticket-scalping schemes
• Financial fraud allegations
• Improper admissions of "under-qualified" prospects
• Student-athletes' involvement in criminal activities
• Coaches' mistreatment of student-athletes
• Defamation lawsuits.

 

The Michael L. Buckner Law Firm recommends presidents, chancellors, general counsel and athletics administrators consider subjecting a university's athletics department to an operational review once every four years. A comprehensive athletics department operational review should assist university administrators with evaluating an athletics department's operations and processes, including highlighting deficiencies concerning legal, operational and NCAA issues. For example, the Michael L. Buckner Law Firm's new operational review service uses 14 key components to assess athletics programs' strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats:

 

• Governance and organization
• Academic support
• Student-athlete well-being
• Competitive success
• Program development
• Personnel
• Facilities and event-management
• Fiscal responsibility and the business office
• NCAA rules-compliance
• Legal compliance and risk-management
• Development and public relations
• Miscellaneous athletics operations
• Gender-equity
• Diversity issues.

 

The Michael L. Buckner Law Firm believes an operational review is most useful in the following circumstances:

 

• An incoming (newly hired) president or athletic director desires an independent analysis of the athletics program.
• The governing board (e.g., board of trustees) requests a review as part of its oversight role.
• An institution seeks a thorough evaluation of the athletics program after a major NCAA enforcement case, scandal or lawsuit reveals serious institutional deficiencies.
• An athletics department desires an independent analysis of the program leading into the strategic planning process.
• An institution needs an assessment of the athletics program prior to the start of the NCAA athletics-certification process.

 

Contact Michael L. Buckner via telephone (954-941-1844) or e-mail (mbuckner@michaelbucknerlaw.com) for more information on, or to schedule an, athletics department operational review. Further, the law firm posted a video concerning athletics department operational reviews on its YouTube channel (@michaelbucknerlaw).

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The Michael L. Buckner Law Firm is a boutique law firm that assists college and university presidents, general counsel and athletic directors address complex NCAA enforcement investigations, infractions appeals and rules-compliance issues. The law firm website can be found at www.michaelbucknerlaw.com.