The NCAA Board of Governors released its Policy on Campus Sexual Violence in August 2017 requiring its 1,100 member schools and more than 450,000 student-athletes who participate in college sports to complete requirements aimed at preventing sexual discrimination, sexual harassment and sexual violence. The policy requires the chancellor, athletics director and Title IX coordinator to declare annually that:
1. The athletics department is fully knowledgeable about, integrated in, and compliant with institutional policies and processes regarding sexual violence prevention and proper adjudication and resolution of acts of sexual violence;?
2. The institutional policies and processes regarding sexual violence prevention and adjudication, and the name and contact information for the campus Title IX coordinator, are readily available within the athletics department, and are provided to student-athletes; and?
3. All student-athletes, coaches and staff have been educated on sexual violence prevention, intervention and response, to the extent allowable by state law and collective bargaining agreements.?
The policy further mandates that the athletics department will cooperate with university investigations into reports and matters related to sexual violence involving student-athletes and athletics department staff in a manner compliant with institutional policies for all students.
Auburn University at Montgomery embraced the NCAA directive and viewed this as a natural extension of the sexual violence prevention training currently offered on campus. AUM Title IX Coordinator Leslie Meadows and AUM Director of Athletics
Jessie Rosa partnered on this initiative to implement an impactful program for AUM's student-athletes and athletics staff. The NCAA Sport Science Institute launched a web-based training program called MyPlaybook where AUM's student athletes were able to participate in interactive training modules on sexual violence, mental health concerns, and alcohol and drug abuse prevention strategies.
