Download or read book The Role of the Faculty Athletics Representative at NCAA Division I FBS Institutions written by Patrick Leary and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 105 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) requires all member institutions to appoint a faculty athletics representative (FAR) to guard academic integrity and ensure institutional control, yet despite the appointment of the FAR it is difficult to define the role of the FAR in decisions regarding both academics and athletics at the institutions where they work. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current role of the FAR in the governance of athletics at NCAA Division I Football Bow Subdivision (FBS) member institutions where intercollegiate athletics are an integral part of campus life. Five current FARs at Division I FBS institutions participated in this study. The researcher used a phenomenological analysis to examine their experiences. The participants revealed it takes a significant amount of time to fully comprehend the role and responsibilities of the FAR. The participants perceived the ambiguous nature of the FAR position as a primary factor in the long adjustment period. In addition, the demands of serving as full-time faculty members prevented the participants from dedicated as much time as they would like to their FAR responsibilities. Although the participants enjoyed developing relationships with student-athletes, most of participants found it frustrating they were not consulted on athletics-related decisions that could impact the academic integrity and institutional control of the athletics program. The findings are relevant for higher education administrators who appoint FARs, as they are in a position to remove some of the institutional barriers that prevent FARs from being effective in the role. Additional research is needed to investigate FAR involvement in the student-athlete admissions process as a means of understanding how they can strengthen their oversight of academic integrity.