First Annual Report of the Independent Athletics
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FIRST ANNUAL REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT ATHLETICS INTEGRITY MONITOR PURSUANT TO THE ATHLETICS INTEGRITY AGREEMENT AMONG THE NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION, THE BIG TEN CONFERENCE AND THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY AND AS EXTERNAL MONITOR APPOINTED BY THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY George J. Mitchell DLA PIPER LLP (US) September 6, 2013 I. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY.............................................................................. 1 II. THE MONITOR’S ACTIVITIES...................................................................................... 3 III. OBSERVATIONS AS TO SPECIFIC AREAS ................................................................ 5 A. Penn State’s Efforts to Implement the AIA ........................................................... 5 1. Activities of the Athletics Integrity Officer............................................... 5 2. Team Monitor Annual Certifications......................................................... 7 3. Athletic Director’s Annual Certification ................................................... 8 4. Annual Training......................................................................................... 9 5. Ethics and Compliance Hotline Reporting .............................................. 12 B. Penn State’s Efforts to Implement Recommendations in the Freeh Report ........ 13 1. Completed Recommendations ................................................................. 14 a. Director of Ethics and Compliance (Recommendations 2.1, 4.1) ........................................................ 14 b. Policy AD83: Conflict of Interest Policy (Recommendation 1.2.2).............................................................. 15 c. Crisis Communications Plan (Recommendation 3.6).................. 16 d. Track Training (Recommendation 2.2.10)................................... 17 e. Management of Child Programs and Access............................... 18 (1) Oversight of Programs for Minors (Recommendation 7.3)..................................................... 19 (2) Inventory of Children’s Programs (Recommendation 7.3.1).................................................. 21 (3) Parent Information for Youth Programs (Recommendation 7.3.5).................................................. 21 (4) Policy AD39 and Programs for Non-Student Minors on Campus........................................................... 22 f. Internal Audits ............................................................................. 26 (1) Background Checks (Recommendation 2.2.13) .............. 26 (2) Employee Roll-Off and Access Revocation (Recommendation 2.2.15)................................................ 27 (3) Records Retention (Recommendation 2.6)...................... 28 (4) Clery Act Master List (Recommendation 4.2.2).............. 29 (5) Clery Act Compliance Audit (Recommendation 4.2.8).................................................. 29 -i- TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) Page 2. Key Ongoing Recommendations ............................................................. 30 a. Penn State Culture (Recommendation 1.1).................................. 31 b. Human Resource Information System (Recommendation 2.2.7).............................................................. 32 c. Recommendations Concerning Facilities Security ...................... 33 d. Board of Trustees Reporting (Recommendations 3.4.1and 3.4.4) ............................................ 35 C. Annual Report...................................................................................................... 36 IV. OTHER EVENTS DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD............................................ 37 A. Lawsuits, Investigations, and Legislative Activity.............................................. 37 B. Athletics ............................................................................................................... 41 1. Sanctions.................................................................................................. 41 2. Head Coaches........................................................................................... 42 3. Finances ................................................................................................... 43 4. The Athletics Department’s Sports Medicine Model .............................. 44 5. Academic Support for Athletes................................................................ 44 C. Board of Trustees................................................................................................. 45 V. AREAS OF FUTURE FOCUS AND CONCLUSION ................................................... 47 -ii- I. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY This is the first annual report of the independent athletics integrity monitor (“Monitor”) pursuant to section III of the Consent Decree between the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) and The Pennsylvania State University (“Penn State” or the “University”), and article IV of the Athletics Integrity Agreement (“AIA”) among the NCAA, Penn State, and the Big Ten Conference. This report also includes our first annual account of the University’s progress in implementing the recommendations made in the report by Freeh Sporkin & Sullivan LLP dated July 12, 2012 (the “Freeh Report”), pursuant to our separate role as the external monitor under the Freeh Report.1 Throughout the first year of the Consent Decree, Penn State has demonstrated its commitment to fulfilling the requirements of the AIA and to implementing the recommendations made in the Freeh Report. The amount of resources, time, and energy devoted to these efforts has been notable. We have been impressed by the professionalism of those leading this undertaking and their open and forthright communications with us. Where we have identified issues, they have been relatively minor and have been quickly addressed. These achievements have been accomplished notwithstanding heightened public scrutiny and continuing debate throughout the past year about the Consent Decree and its impact. As of this first anniversary of my appointment as Monitor, Penn State has substantially completed the initial implementation of all of the Freeh Report recommendations and of its annual obligations under the AIA. During this most recent quarter, we verified that Penn State 1 One of the recommendations in the Freeh Report was for the University to appoint an external monitor to evaluate the implementation of the other recommendations made in that report. See Freeh Report, ch. 10, Recommendation 8.2. The University requested that I perform this additional role rather than retaining a separate monitor, and the NCAA consented to that arrangement. trained and received certifications from “Covered Persons” as to their duties and responsibilities with respect to athletics compliance with only a handful of exceptions.2 The athletic director certified the Athletics Department’s efforts to comply with the NCAA Constitution and Bylaws and Big Ten Conference Handbook, including the principles of institutional control, responsibility, ethical conduct, and integrity. His certification relied in part upon the attestations of the team monitors designated for each of Penn State’s varsity athletics programs who likewise certified their teams’ compliance with the NCAA and Big Ten Conference rules. With the exception of several initiatives that necessarily will require a multi-year effort, Penn State has completed (or, in a few instances, has been excused from completing) all of the recommendations that were made in chapter 10 of the Freeh Report, as the AIA required. Among the notable achievements this past quarter, the Director of University Ethics and Compliance Regis W. Becker continued to staff his new department with the hiring of a new compliance specialist for youth programs. In collaboration with her colleagues, that compliance specialist has compiled an inventory of all youth programs and has published safety and security information for the parents of children who participate in them. Penn State also approved a new policy addressing financial conflicts of interest and introduced a crisis management plan. The Office of Human Resources and the Center for Workplace Learning and Performance have launched an electronic platform to track completion of mandatory training sessions. Representatives from the Athletics Department, the Office of Physical Plant, and the University Police have continued to lead various ongoing projects to enhance security at University facilities frequented by minors. 2 The AIA defines “Covered Persons” to include all student-athletes participating in NCAA-sanctioned intercollegiate athletics teams, coaches, team managers, University staff and employees who directly interact with those teams, the Board of Trustees, the president of the University, and members of the athletics director’s executive committee. 2 While much has been accomplished, important work remains to be done. Penn State must maintain its focus on these ongoing initiatives while also fostering an environment in which its many undertakings will take root and thrive. By all indications thus far, the University has positioned itself well to meet this challenge. II. THE MONITOR’S ACTIVITIES This quarter, we conducted numerous visits to the University Park campus to meet with Penn State administrators, faculty, and staff. We also visited Penn State’s Fayette and York campuses. We have continued to attend meetings of the administration response team, the Freeh Response Advisory Council, and the Subcommittee