Thursday, August 16, 2012

INDIANAPOLIS -- Simon Fraser University of Burnaby, B.C., has been approved as the NCAA’s first international member.  The NCAA President’s Council made it official Thursday, Aug. 9 by granting the GNAC institution full membership.

This final step means SFU varsity teams are now eligible to compete for NCAA championships beginning Sept. 1. It also means SFU receives voting privileges at future NCAA conventions.

Earlier this month the NCAA Executive Committee supported modifying the Association’s accreditation policies to account for international schools that have attained their nation’s equivalent of accreditation and have been accepted into candidacy in one of six U.S. accreditation programs specified in the NCAA constitution.

The Division II Presidents Council asked the Executive Committee about altering a portion of the NCAA constitution that currently requires all NCAA members to be accredited by a U.S. regional accrediting agency. 

While Simon Fraser is a member of the Association of Universities and Colleges in Canada, which establishes and evaluates operational standards for institutions, the type of American academic accreditation the NCAA requires is not available in Canada. As part of its desire to become an NCAA member, Simon Fraser has been accepted into candidacy by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, but the process will not be complete until 2017 at the earliest.

In all other ways, Simon Fraser has completed the Division II membership process in good standing. The Division II Membership Committee approved the institution as an active member at its July meeting.

The policy modification the Division II Presidents Council approved will allow international members to be accepted as active members if:

• The international institution is accredited by one of the six U.S. regional accrediting agencies (NCAA Constitution 3.2.3.3); or
• The international institution is a candidate for accreditation with one of the six U.S. regional accrediting agencies and is in good standing with its country’s national, regional or provincial accreditation agency.

International membership was made possible by the Executive Committee’s adoption of a 10-year pilot program in 2008. So far, Simon Fraser is the only institution to have matriculated.

The original pilot pertained only to Canadian institutions, but the Executive Committee expanded it to include Mexico based on a recommendation from the Division II Presidents Council to do so. The Presidents Council made its request after at least one Mexican school (Monterrey Tech) expressed interest in exploring Division II membership.

With expansion of the pilot approved, the Division II Presidents Council could sponsor a legislative proposal for the 2013 NCAA Convention to allow schools from Mexico to enter the Division II membership process. 

Source: NCAA