Sure, there are piles upon piles of paperwork. But the trips, well, they make it all worth it.
Associate Athletic Director Erin McDermott spends most of her days assuring that Princeton complies with the notoriously convoluted NCAA guidelines that govern everything from academics to recruiting, in addition to overseeing a litany of other details that keep the athletic teams running smoothly.
But to McDermott, the best part of her job comes on the days when she gets to leave the office. McDermott doesn't just take any old business trips, though. Her most recent travels took her to Australia, accompanying the women's lacrosse team on its trip there this December.
"I always enjoy traveling with teams," McDermott said. "It is the best way to get to know them more personally and make connections with them as an administrator and person. Those were some looooong flights, but the experience was well worth it."
In addition to traveling seasonally with teams in postseason play, McDermott has been to Italy with the men's soccer team and to Germany and the Czech Republic with the women's ice hockey team last year.
Busy woman
These trips not only allow McDermott to meet Princeton's finest athletes, but also allow her a much-needed break from her long list of duties here on campus.
Aside from being the university's NCAA compliance officer, McDermott also serves as the primary athletic department contact for the Dean of the College Office, the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students, the Deans and Directors of Studies in the residential colleges, the Financial Aid Office and the Housing Office. She also assists in communicating with the Admissions Office and serves as the athletic department's advisor to the Varsity Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
And there's more. She oversees the strength and conditioning coaches and Princeton's student-athlete wellness program, which includes alcohol and drug education and nutrition education. Lastly, McDermott records and analyzes the department's senior student-athlete exit survey data.
McDermott was involved in athletics long before she came to Princeton. A three sport athlete in high school, she captained the basketball team at Hofstra before graduating in 1992. She then attended graduate school at UMass-Amherst for sports management and served as Columbia's Assistant Director of Compliance for three years.
It was at Columbia that she first experienced the "inner workings of college athletic governance" and the many rules behind collegiate compliance.
Academic standards
Most universities, including Princeton, deal with academic progress and recruiting issues on a regular basis. The NCAA requires that Princeton reaffirm its academic eligibility qualifications twice per year — once in the early fall before athletic competition begins and once prior to the spring season.
McDermott, along with Dean Richard Williams, must track students' academic progress toward degree requirements each year. Student-athletes must take a minimum number of courses during a given academic year and must fulfill the NCAA's required percentage of degree credit. Lastly, a student-athlete's major has to be declared by the start of junior year. If one or more of these requirements is not met, the athlete will lose eligibility until he or she satisfies them.
The second most frequently occurring compliance issue is recruiting, but unlike academics, this responsibility falls almost wholly on a coach's shoulders. Princeton coaches must pass an annual certification exam in order to be allowed to contact or evaluate prospects in person.
The NCAA's recruiting rules govern all parts of the process, from what materials can be sent to recruits and how many times recruits can be called to how many times a coach can evaluate a recruit off campus. Additionally, McDermott said, after the Colorado University scandal, campus visits by recruits are highly regulated. Although some of these rules may seem excessive, McDermott understands the need for such governance.
"There are many, many rules to make the recruiting process as level as possible between all Division-I schools," she said, "so those with more financial resources can't use that to their advantage too much over those that don't have the financial resources."
Penalties for breaking one of these recruiting rules can range from letters to those involved in the situation to coaches and athletic department members losing their jobs if a serious offense occurs.
No gambling
The third violation that some schools see around the time of March Madness or the Super Bowl is gambling. Neither athletes nor athletic department staff are allowed to gamble on the outcome of a sporting event. The penalty for gambling is loss of eligibility with the length of time dependent on the severity of the situation.
Most recently, McDermott worked on the eligibility case of former basketball player Spencer Gloger '05. With the help of McDermott and the athletic department, Gloger applied for a sixth year in which to complete his four years of NCAA eligibility, citing the extenuating circumstances of transferring twice and an injury. The request and a subsequent appeal were both denied.
"It was interesting to develop rationale and arguments to influence the committees to decide differently," McDermott said. "But, in the end, they went with past case precedent, which is what we expected."
Ultimately, though, McDermott sees her job as being about far more than rules and paperwork.
"Interacting with student-athletes was one of my main attractions to this profession, so I take every opportunity I have to do so," McDermott said. "Providing student-athletes with the best possible experience we can while they are at Princeton is the main focus of our department, and I think part of that is reaching out so they know us and know we support them."
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