Athletic Department Profiles

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided compensation and profile information for five positions at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) division I schools, including the position defined as the head of women's programs. GAO noted that: (1) it obtained some information from NCAA, but it obtained most information through a questionnaire mailed to all division I schools; (2) the term "head of women's athletic programs" identified the person responsible for women's sports at each school; (3) the use of the term "head of women's athletic programs" prevented respondents from referring to the designated NCAA senior women's administrator when identifying the head of women's programs; (4) it did not verify or validate the schools' responses to the questionnaire; (5) its report reflected the 1990 through 1991 academic year rather than the 13-year period covered in the longitudinal study; (6) the material provided in the longitudinal study included all NCAA member schools; (7) its questionnaire solicited information on five specific positions rather than all athletic department positions; and (8) the information it reported was generally consistent with similar statistics that the NCAA developed for division I schools.