NCAA investigates unprecedented rise in academic fraud cases

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is investigating what its highest-ranking enforcement official said is an unprecedented amount of potential academic fraud.

The more than 20 open cases represent an “epidemic,” according to NCAA Vice President of Enforcement Jonathan Duncan.

“My sense is that cheating on campus is more common than it used to be, across the board,” Duncan said Friday in an interview at the NCAA’s 2015 convention. “Maybe it’s just a function of member schools satisfying their conditions of membership to tell us when there is misconduct, and we applaud that.”

The recent increase in incidents is due partially to an increase in academic standards set by the NCAA’s member institutions—including new eligibility for incoming athletes and stricter academic requirements for postseason eligibility. It also comes at a time when technology such as online learning has moved fraud into the digital age, Duncan said.

In current broadcast contracts alone, the NCAA and its five richest leagues—the Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and Southeastern conferences—are guaranteed more than $31 billion. NCAA President Mark Emmert said Thursday that revenue at the organization’s Indianapolis national office increased in 2014 for the 14th consecutive year.

The NCAA processed 22 total major violations last year across all divisions. It also handled roughly 5,000 less serious, or secondary violations, a record.

More resources

The organization’s 60-person enforcement division investigates claims without having a say in rulings or punishment. The group is dedicating more resources to combating academic fraud, according to Duncan, who declined to provide financial details.

During his statements at the opening business session of the convention outside Washington, Emmert called academics “the most import core value” of college sports. He said there are a number of challenges facing student-athletes, including the fact that some arrive at school “insufficiently prepared” for the rigors of balancing a sport’s time demands with their academics.

“We have to continue to emphasize the centrality of academic success as the touchstone for why we participate in collegiate athletics,” he said.

The University of North Carolina last year detailed an academic fraud that spanned 18 years and made it easier for student athletes to maintain eligibility. An independent investigation found that 3,100 students took so-called paper classes with no faculty involvement or class attendance.

Ethics cheats

UNC’s disclosure, which the NCAA is investigating, came two months after the University of Notre Dame suspended four football players due to an academic probe. Dartmouth College last semester accused 64 students of cheating in a sports ethics class designed in part to appeal to its student athletes.

Duncan said the NCAA membership is “struggling” to define which academic violations should be considered NCAA issues.

“Just because there’s an academic violation on a member institution’s campus doesn’t mean it’s an NCAA matter, and just because a student athlete happens to be involved doesn’t automatically make it an NCAA matter,” Duncan said.

He added that his group takes notice if there is an athletic staff member, or if there is concern that athletes are being treated differently than the rest of the student body.

Duncan said most cases of potential academic misconduct are reported directly to the NCAA’s enforcement group, either from the institution itself or someone with direct knowledge of the events. Last year the NCAA started an academic integrity unit, which meets regularly with schools and administrators to discuss steps toward preventing academic misconduct, and how to stop it once it’s reported.