Provost to head investigation of Football scandal

A committee will look into the Athletic Dept.'s handling of star Mitch Marrow's ineligibility. Provost Stanley Chodorow, rather than the Athletic Department, will head the committee investigating the circumstances surrounding the academic ineligibility of fifth-year College senior and football player Mitch Marrow. A statement released Sunday by the Athletic Department reported that the department would conduct its own investigation. But University spokesperson Ken Wildes said yesterday that the committee will be comprised of a representative of the general counsel's office and six or seven administrators and faculty members. The names of the committee members have not yet been released. Athletic Director Steve Bilsky and members of the faculty and administration have already met with Chodorow this week, Wildes said. He added that Bilsky is "absolutely comfortable" with this approach to the investigation. The committee -- which should conclude its investigation within seven to 10 days -- will review the sequence of events in the case. It might identify "infractions? recommend changes that should be made and? discipline that should be imposed," Wildes said. If the investigation finds intentional wrongdoing by the Athletic Department, a harsh penalty could force the team to forfeit many of its victories this season, dropping its record from 6-4 to 1-9. Additionally, the committee is charged with investigating the "broader scope of systems in place for monitoring eligibility and eligibility issues," he said. Until the investigation is complete, several questions about the motives behind the attempt to repair Marrow's eligibility so late in the season will remain unanswered and continue to spark campus-wide and national debate. Athletic officials refuse to talk before the investigation's conclusion about why and how they approached professors in two departments about arranging an independent study for Marrow, though some campus discussion has labeled the move an attempt to cover up Marrow's ineligible status. The investigation will also focus on the specific roles of officials including Associate Athletic Director Denis Elton Cochran-Fikes and Athletic Department Academic Coordinator Rob Koonce. The committee could determine that athletic officials tried to get special academic privileges for Marrow, a possibility that has revived a debate about the University's priorities on academics and athletics. The department's attempts to hurriedly arrange the course for Marrow set off warning bells last week about special treatment for athletes and misdirected academic advising. The story first appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer Thanksgiving Day and was later picked up by The Associated Press, ESPN, CNN and several newspapers. High-ranking professors have criticized the Athletic Department's attempts to first secure an independent study from the History Department and then from the Legal Studies Department in the Wharton School. The request, granted by Legal Studies Professor Kenneth Shropshire, was eventually overturned. Marrow's decision in September to drop one of his three courses lowered him to part-time status, making him ineligible to play football. NCAA rules mandate that all student-athletes, except those in their final term before graduation, must maintain full-time status in order to compete in intercollegiate athletics. This is not the only case where the Athletic Department has overstepped its bounds in academics, History Department Undergraduate Chairperson Bruce Kuklick said. He said professors in his department have received several "inappropriate requests" from Athletic Department officials to make exceptions for student athletes. But several History professors said yesterday they had never been approached by athletic officials, except to check up on athletes' academic progress.

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