Fairbanks (December 16, 2020) –Collegiate Consulting has completed its multi-divisional compliance review for University of Alaska Fairbanks. UAF competes in the Division II Great Northwest Athletic Conference for all sports except for men’s ice hockey. The men’s ice hockey team competes in the Division I Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
Per NCAA Bylaw, Article 20.4.4, “once every four years, an active multi-divisional institution must complete a compliance review conducted by an independent third-party.” Currently, 31 Division II and Division III institutions have a sport(s) participating at the Division I level. Of those 31 institutions, 29 were required to conduct their multi-divisional review during the 2019-20 athletic year. Collegiate Consulting assisted four institutions with their study and this is the second time that Collegiate Consulting has worked with UAF.
The Nanooks hockey team competed as an independent Division I team in the 1960s and then in Division II in the 1970s. During the 1985-86 season, the team returned to the Division I level and joined the Great West Hockey Conference. In 2010, the team appeared in their first NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament.
The review is an extensive process, involving a comprehensive assessment of the following: academic support, organizational structure, institutional control, rules, education, eligibility and student-athlete certification, financial aid, recruitment and monitoring of student-athletes, administration of camps and clinics, extra benefits and amateurism, playing and practice seasons, and student-athlete welfare.
In the previous three cycles (2012, 2016, 2020), Collegiate Consulting has completed 13 studies across eight institutions, working with more than 25 percent of multi-divisional institutions during these cycles.