By Josephine (Jo) R. Potuto, FAR, University of Nebraska
I am a faculty athletic representative (or faculty rep, or FAR, or F-A-R). Every NCAA college and university has one. FARs are appointed by our chancellor/president, report to that CEO, and serve at that CEO’s pleasure.
A FAR plays a role both on our own campus and also in Conference and NCAA governance. On campus, a FAR serves as the direct eyes and ears of our CEO and is an integral cog in the campus oversight of athletics required for institutional control. In Conference and NCAA governance, a FAR represents the full campus environment — faculty, administrators, students, donors, boosters — in much the same way that a CEO does.
What FARs do varies from campus to campus, depending on what our CEOs want from us. All of us are vested with responsibility for academic matters and student-athlete well-being. FARs at the major conferences typically have a great deal of additional responsibility, and release time and other support sufficient to let us get the job done. We have active responsibility for NCAA and Conference rules compliance. We are involved with the vetting of NCAA policies and legislative proposals. We are among those included in major athletic policy discussions. At smaller schools FARs often still directly handle student-athlete academic eligibility certification. At larger schools FARs have a supervisory role but the hands-on work is done by administrators in the registrar’s office in conjunction with staff persons in athletic academic services.
We all see the world from perspectives colored by our backgrounds and experiences. David Clough, the FAR at the University of Colorado, created an alphabetical list of activities that are central to an intercollegiate athletics program and its success. These include (1) academic integrity, (2) student-athlete academic success, (3) team competitive success, (4) student-athlete well-being, (5) NCAA, Conference, institutional, and Title IX rules compliance, (6) facilities upgrades and new construction, (7) revenue production, (8) financial solvency, (9) marketing, branding, and sponsorships, and (10) fan and donor relations. Clough guessed that FARs and athletic directors would support every item on the list, but our order of priorities might differ. I agree.
There is no inherently right answer to how to prioritize the items on the list, or how best to achieve the priorities. But the best answers come from active discussion. Both the athletic and the faculty/campus perspective must be at the table if policy solutions are to be well vetted and strike the right balance between the requisites of athletics and the greater campus.
Although a FAR is not a representative of the faculty, FARs see athletic issues through a faculty prism. We approach questions with a healthy dose of skepticism and want hard data before taking positions. We are imbedded in the greater campus and understand how it works. In the old days, a FAR often cast the institutional vote at NCAA conventions. In the major conferences, even today, a FAR formally casts the institutional vote in conference meetings. Many FARs fear that the shared governance side of the new NCAA Division I governance structure will relegate the FAR voice to an afterthought. It remains to be seen how many FARs will be represented on the autonomy side.
I believe that an active, engaged, informed FAR voice is a critical element both to assuring institutional control on campus as well as to re-energizing the “college” part of college athletics and monitoring to prevent relapse. That might sound self serving. Let me quote, then, from something my chancellor wrote: “If I had one piece of strong advice for any new president it would be to appoint a FAR who has your respect, the respect of the faculty, and the respect of the athletics department and to give that person the authority and responsibility to oversee the department on your behalf.”
Potuto is the FAR at the University of Nebraska. She blogs at Potuto’s Points of Sports & Law. She can be followed on twitter, @PointsofLaw.
