SEC conduct panel includes UT's Cheek, Vandy's Williams

Tennessee chancellor Jimmy Cheek and Vanderbilt athletic director David Williams will serve on a seven-person SEC panel to review issues surrounding student-athlete conduct, the league office announced Thursday.

Williams is among two athletic directors in the group. Cheek is one of only two chancellors, alongside chairman R. Bowen Loftin, Missouri’s chancellor.

The SEC Working Group of Student-Athlete Conduct will discuss and review student-athlete behavior, including NCAA and conference policies, according to SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. It also will look at issues and policies arising in other conferences, as well as state and federal legislation, which could affect discipline, drug testing policies and other related issues in the SEC.

A report and recommendations from the committee’s findings will be submitted for initial consideration by SEC member schools in the spring, according to an SEC media release.

“Student-athlete conduct is a topic of serious concern for leaders in higher education today because the actions of a few individuals can have a devastating effect on the reputation of an entire program and institution,” Loftin said in the release. “The SEC is taking a proactive position in addressing this issue by analyzing contributing factors as well as considering practical measures and best practices to positively impact student-athlete conduct now and into the future.”

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In addition to Loftin, Cheek and Williams, the committee includes David Shipley, Georgia professor in law and faculty athletics representative; Scott Stricklin, Mississippi State athletics director; Julie Cromer, Arkansas senior associate athletics director and senior woman administrator; and Matt Gregory, LSU associate dean of students.

“The SEC has already established a leadership role with our transfer review policy approved by the SEC membership last May, which for the first time establishes conduct expectations of individuals seeking to transfer to and compete in the SEC,” Sankey said in the release. “This working group has been established to engage in a continued conversation on student-athlete conduct for the ultimate purpose of making recommendations for conference policies or institutional best practices to shape student-athlete behavioral expectations in the SEC.”

Reach Adam Sparks at 615-259-8010 and on Twitter @AdamSparks.