UNLV athletes warned to shun certain classes

Athletes at UNLV have been cautioned to avoid classes in the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs until a dispute between the college and athletics staff subsides.

The squabble began earlier this fall when athletic advisers asked a professor and the college dean to look into whether a female teaching assistant at the college was dating an athlete in her class.

The university has a general policy against such relationships, with possible disciplinary action resulting. When an athlete is one of the parties involved, NCAA repercussions aren't out of the question, athletics officials say.

The situation has turned into a battle of wills, with back-and-forth accusations of inappropriate meddling in academic affairs, bias against athletes, even sexism.

Urban Affairs dean Martha Watson, who doesn't teach the class, declined to comment on the controversy.

But Jeff Higgins, the university's director of student-athlete academic services, said he has advised athletes against taking courses in the urban affairs college, unless it affects their majors.

"We're trying to go with a little timeout for a while to let things cool off," Higgins said.

The urban affairs college has seven areas of study, including communications and criminal justice. Of the university's approximately 450 student-athletes, fewer than 100 have majors in the college, Higgins said.

In a November e-mail exchange with the Review-Journal, Watson said she was unaware of any dispute between her college and athletics staff.

But after returning from a business trip to Peru in early December, Watson seemed to acknowledge the problem. She said she wouldn't respond to claims of "other people at the university who feel they can talk about this matter."

Athletic director Mike Hamrick, referring in general to situations that prompt his staff to act, said vigilance is one of the keys to his job.

"If there is any perception of irregularities, it's our jobs to follow up on it," Hamrick said. "In cases where institutions have NCAA or academic issues, that's because they don't follow up on warning signs."

Higgins said he was being overcautious when he approached the professor, whom he declined to name, about the conduct of her graduate assistant. A relationship between an athlete and an employee with grading authority gave him reason to voice concern, he said.

Academic-fraud scandals stemming from inappropriate contact between student-athletes and university staff have rocked collegiate athletics programs across the country.

The University of Minnesota basketball program, for example, was put on probation in 2000 after it was learned that a university employee had done course work for players at the school.

Closer to home, UNLV over the years has battled accusations that student-athletes, especially basketball players, have gotten preferential treatment in the classroom. In 1977, the men's basketball program was put on probation for reasons including academic fraud.

The athlete involved in the current dispute plays a spring sport, not basketball.

Eric Toliver, the athletic department's head of NCAA compliance, said, based on what he knows about the situation, no NCAA rules were violated.

Some professors become uneasy when athletics officials approach them about classroom matters, said Kadie Otto, an assistant professor of sports management at Western Carolina University.

"There have been faculty members who have spoken up about instances of academic fraud involving athletes, only to be threatened by the administration" at other universities, Otto said.

UNLV dean Ann McDonough, who oversees the academic counseling of student-athletes, declined to offer details about the dispute but commented generally on her staff's intentions in the matter.

"There may have been some misperception about what we were trying to do," McDonough said. "There's a difference between accusing and informing.

"But I can see why people would have negative biases. Look at what went on 15 or 20 years ago."

Chancellor Jim Rogers, reached for comment on Thursday while traveling in Reno, said he hadn't heard about the situation but vowed to look into it.

"I will try to get this resolved to the extent I have the authority to do so," Rogers said.

UNLV spokesman Dave Tonelli said university officials also would look into the matter.

Amid all the fuss, it is unclear whether the athletic department's concerns over the relationship between student and teacher were even justified.

The matter eventually was referred to Phil Burns, the head of UNLV's Office of Student Conduct. Burns didn't return phone calls seeking comment.

What's clear is that the fallout from the situation is threatening to reverberate into next semester.

Several athletes dropped the class with this particular graduate assistant over concerns that the professor was retaliating against them, Higgins said.

Higgins said Watson took offense to an analogy he made comparing the alleged actions of the graduate assistant to a dog that causes trouble in neighbors' yards.

On a university Web site, Watson describes herself as "a scholar of women's discourse" and someone with "feminist concerns." She became the founding dean of the urban affairs college in 1997.

Higgins said his choice of words could have been better.

The dispute brings to light what long has gone on behind the walls of universities attempting to strike a balance between academics and athletics.

UNLV history professor Eugene Moehring said suspicion always has existed among some faculty members that university courses were created to help athletes succeed in academics.

In some instances, Moehring said, he's heard complaints that failing grades were changed to passing grades to keep an athlete's eligibility intact.

But Moehring said he's never heard of another situation in which a specific department or college has clashed with the athletic department.

Contact reporter Alan Maimon at amaimon@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0404.