A CBS/Sports Illustrated investigation into criminal records of student athletes revealed that one of every 14 players on top 25 Division I football programs had criminal records.
The study, which lasted six months, also found that many coaches were unaware of their athletes’ criminal records. Of the 25 schools the investigation focused on, only two — University of Oklahoma and Texas Christian University — performed background checks on student athletes.
“We certainly don’t engage in full-scale background checks for every single student-athlete, and again you’re looking at exorbitant costs if you did so — keep in mind we have over 500 student-athletes,” athletics department spokesman Chad Moller said in an e-mail. “I’ve never personally priced a background check, but I’m certain that you could get well over a couple hundred dollars per search if you engaged certain companies, so it just isn’t economically feasible to go to that level for every kid.”
Each MU athletics team has its own policy for doing background checks on incoming student athletes because there is no school-wide mandate on them, Moller said in an interview. Although they do go through companies for criminal background checks, much of their assessment comes from relationships established with the athlete’s coaches, family members, friends, administrators and the like.
Virginia Tech was the only school within the investigation that performed background checks on all admitted students, not just athletes. The state of Virginia established a law that required all schools of higher education to perform background checks on incoming students. Virginia Tech also requires for students to annually disclose in writing any arrest or criminal convictions to officials.
Virginia Tech Public Relations Coordinator Amy Widner said the relationship between students, staff and faculty was a function of trust.
“On the application there are some trigger questions,” Widner said. “Some of the triggers are, have you been suspended, have you been arrested?”
If students answer yes to any of these questions, their application is flagged and sent to a committee.
“If it’s, oh they snuck alcohol into the prom, a staff member will see that they disclosed that and they’ll waive it,” Widner said. “If it’s a violent offense, it goes to the threat assessment committee and they decide what happens from there.”
Similarly, if an MU student athlete has a violent offense in their criminal record, administration and those involved with the athlete would be informed, Moller said. He added that those involved would do what they could to learn more about the offense before deciding what to do with the athlete.
“We don’t want to take a piece of paper for its word so we try to find out more,” Moller said.
Mark Cohen, athletics department spokesman for TCU, one of the two schools to perform background checks, said the background checks are a key part of the recruiting process for the school.
“We utilize background checks as one of many tools when recruiting prospective student athletes,” Cohen said in a news release. “Suffice it to say, we try very hard to recruit athletes who are good community citizens and leaders in their respective sports. So far, we are pleased with our recent recruits and we look forward to continued success in all of our sports programs.”
Moller said student athletes’ crimes draw more media attention due to the prestige associated with college athletic programs.
“We tell our student athletes that they are held to a higher standard because of the prominence the athletics department has and the notoriety athletes have,” Moller said. “Whether it’s fair or not, if a student non-athlete gets a ticket, it’s no big deal. If it’s a student athlete, you’ll hear about it.”
