DRAFT 5………………………………………………………………………………DRAFT 5

SECOND CYCLE CERTIFICATION

FISCAL INTEGRITY SUBCOMMITTEE

SEFT STUDY INSTRUMENT

OPERATING PRINCIPLE THREE

3.3 Established Fiscal Policies and Procedures

3.3.1 Describe the policies and standard operating procedures that help to ensure that all expenditures for athletics are handled in accordance with NCAA, conference and institutional rules.

All expenditures are made in accordance with the Board of Regents approved policy and procedures. The President of the University is responsible for the administration of all aspects of the athletics program including approval of the budget and audit of all expenditures. The President delegated this responsibility to the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. The Director of Intercollegiate Athletics has delegated the control for spending to the Assistant Director-Business. All Athletic Department expenditures, regardless of the source of funding are handled through the normal University processes. This policy and procedure addresses NCAA Article 2.1.and NCAA Article 22.2.3.

Within the Athletic Department, the Assistant Director–Business is assigned the responsibility for all financial operations, which include; coordination of day-to-day administration of the budget, monthly reporting and review of all expenditures and coordination of the development of annual spending plan and budget development. The Assistant Director-Compliance is responsible for assurance of compliance with all national, conference and University regulations relating to athletics (see Classification Specification for these two positions).

GENERAL

The Athletic Department operates under the umbrella of the University, the Mid-American conference and the NCAA. All financial operations including coordination of day-to-day administration of the budget, monthly reviews and reporting, review and approval of all expenditures and coordination of the development of an annual budget are handled according to University, Mid-American conference and NCAA Guidelines. Checks and balances are in place within the athletic department, purchasing, financial aid, payroll, accounting and the budget office to ensure all guidelines are procedures are followed. All expenditures for the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics are managed consistent with these guidelines for all divisions of Eastern Michigan University.

UNIVERSITY GUIDELINES

All budget and expenditures are handled in accordance with policies established by the Board of Regents of the University. The Athletics Department’s Policy manual mirrors the University’s Policy manual in all areas of budgeting, purchasing, payroll and travel. The Director of Athletics and/or the Assistant Athletics Director – Business, first approve all expenditures. They are reviewed for compliance with institutional, Mid-American and NCAA rules and regulations and are evaluated for available budget resources. All expenditures are then processed through the University system.

The University handles an annual audit of the Athletics Department. Internal University auditors and an external group perform the audit. The department falls under all regularly scheduled audits by the University to include petty cash, purchase card activities and football tickets. The football ticket audit is completed each year immediately after the completion of the current season.

The Athletics Department also follows all purchasing guidelines as established by the University Policy Manual. This includes following bid limits, general purchasing guidelines, University or state contracts and personnel reimbursements.

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE

As part of membership in the Mid-American Conference the Athletics Department’s budget must be part of the total institution budget. The Athletics Department is required to follow all budget procedures on campus and is included within the total budget of the University. The annual budget is developed in conjunction with all departments on campus in January of each year. It is then presented to the Board of Regents each spring for approval.

The NCAA Special Assistance fund is also administered through the conference office in conjunction with the individual University’s Financial Aid office. Eastern Michigan receives an annual check from the conference, which is deposited into an account separate from the Athletics Department’s budget. All requests are routed through the Assistant Athletics Director – Compliance and the financial aid office. All requests are then routed to the conference office for final approval. Once approval from the conference is received, the financial aid office produces the check to the student-athlete requesting the assistance.

The University is also required to submit a Summary of Intercollegiate Athletics Revenue and Expenditures Report for the most recent completed fiscal year. This report is completed by the University’s Business & Finance department and includes the signature of the University’s Chief Financial Officer. It is submitted to the conference each January.

NCAA

Per NCAA Bylaw 6.2.3 an outside audit firm performs a financial audit annually. The audit is completed and filed with the University’s Chief Executive Officer prior to the completion of the current fiscal year. The audit is typically started in late September and completed by the first of the year. The Assistant Athletics Director – Business works in conjunction with the accounting office and the audit firm to complete the process.

Each year at the completion of the current an outside firm covering the sales and distribution of game tickets conducts football season an audit. This audit is required by NCAA Bylaw 20.9.6.3.2 as a means of meeting the Division I-A criteria.

SUMMARY

Eastern Michigan University, a publicly funded, state institution, has extensive institutional, conference and NCAA checks and balances in the area of resource allocation and expenditures. The controls, reports and audits underscore an institutional predisposition toward exceptional precision in the expenditure of resources. The Intercollegiate Athletics Advisory Committee (IAAC) has periodically requested, and reviewed, Intercollegiate Athletics expenditures and budgeting protocol.

3.3.2 Describe or attach a copy of the university’s policies and standard operating procedures for ensuring that prospects do not receive recruiting inducements and enrolled student-athletes do not receive extra benefits contrary to NCAA, Conference and Institutional rules, including (a) identification of person(s) responsible for these areas, (b) means of monitoring compliance with these rules and, (c) means of ensuring that only institutional or athletics department funds are expended in these areas.

(a) The University’s approach to ensuring that NCAA, conference and university policies are followed involves providing information to all relevant personnel about the rules and policies and implementing systems to monitor the activities. Within the Department of Athletics, the Assistant Athletics Director-Compliance has primary responsibility for ensuring that only permissible recruiting inducements are extended and that enrolled student athletes receive no extra benefits. The Athletics Department utilizes a model of shared compliance responsibility and, therefore, the coaches also play a key role in this critical area. For example, coaches must inform student hosts about the rules on entertaining prospects at the time the Compliance Office approves an official visit. The Assistant Athletics Director-Business also plays a role by collecting and monitoring the receipts and expense reports from official visits.

(b) Rules education is central to compliance efforts in this area. The Assistant Athletics Director-Compliance meets with each team a minimum of two times during the academic year to provide rules education. Included in these rules education sessions is information about ethical conduct/academic fraud, extra-benefit and award legislation and procedures for reporting violations. Benefits allowed, and those expressly prohibited by the NCAA, are described to the student athletes so that they are able to understand the spirit of the legislation surrounding extra benefits.

All coaches, (including volunteers and graduate assistants) attend mandatory rules education sessions once a month in which they are informed about rules and policies regarding recruiting inducements and extra benefit legislation. The Assistant Athletics Director-Compliance also meets with the following constituents throughout the academic year for the express purpose of providing rules education:

• Faculty Athletics Representative - Twice per year
• Student Athlete Support Services – Twice per year
• Holman Learning Center (tutors and learning assistants) – Once a year
• Registrar, Financial Aid, Admissions – Twice a year
• Ticket Office – Once a year
• Strength & Conditioning – Once a year
• Training Staff – Once a year
• Deans & Department Heads – Once a year
• Athletic Administrators – Twice a year
• Athletic Club and Boosters – Once a year

Information about rules governing inducements to prospects and extra benefits for enrolled student athletes is also covered in various publications throughout the academic year. These publications include:

• The Eastern Edge
• Eastern Michigan University Connection Magazine for Alumni Association Members
• The Eastern “Extra” (EMU Athletic Club Publication)
• Eastern Michigan University’s Community College Newsletter
• Media Guides for each sport
• Game programs
• Eastern Michigan University Intercollegiate Athletics Web Site

All coaches are required to successfully complete annual recruiting certification exams. Written legislative updates are sent to key internal and external constituents on a regular basis. Oral compliance updates are provided at the Intercollegiate Athletics Advisory Committee meetings.

Additionally, the Compliance Subcommittee of the Intercollegiate Athletics Advisory Committee (IAAC) conducts regular audits of documentation intended to ensure compliance with various pieces of legislation, including extra benefits for enrolled student athletes. As part of this effort, the committee collects all of the vehicle registration forms for football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball and validates the accuracy of these forms.

Some of the specific forms used to assist in assuring compliance with recruiting and extra-benefit legislation are listed below. A description of procedures can be found in the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics Compliance Manual:

• Official Visit Approval
• Off-campus Recruiters
• Request for Signage
• Student-Host Instructions/Receipt
• Student-Host Expense Report
• Institutional and Non-Institutional Promotions
• Institutional Monetary Award Summary
• Student-Athlete Exit Interviews

(c) The Board of Regents and the President of the University have the ultimate responsibility to ensure that only institutional or athletics department funds are expended in these areas. The President has delegated this responsibility to the Intercollegiate Athletics Director who in turn has delegated the financial management to the Assistant Athletics Director-Business. All funds expended on athletics are subject to institutionally defined practices of documentation, review and oversight. Budget and audit procedures for Athletics are consistent with those followed by the institution generally.