AD Professional Standards & Ethics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An athletic director discovers a booster is providing impermissible benefits to recruits without the AD's knowledge. What is the AD's primary ethical obligation?
- Privately warn the booster to stop without reporting
- Report the violation to the compliance office and governing body (Correct answer)
- Monitor the situation before taking action
- Consult the head coach to determine the scope first
Correct answer: Report the violation to the compliance office and governing body
Athletic directors have a duty to self-report violations to the compliance office and the governing body (e.g., NCAA) to uphold institutional integrity.
Question 2: Which principle best describes an athletic director's responsibility to treat all student-athletes equitably regardless of sport revenue generation?
- Fiscal transparency
- Distributive justice (Correct answer)
- Utilitarian resource allocation
- Beneficence
Correct answer: Distributive justice
Distributive justice requires that resources, opportunities, and benefits be allocated fairly across all programs and athletes.
Question 3: A coach asks the AD to overlook a recruiting violation because the recruit is 'critical to the program's success.' The AD's refusal best demonstrates which ethical standard?
- Loyalty to institutional stakeholders
- Subordinating personal gain to rule compliance (Correct answer)
- Utilitarianism favoring the greater good
- Deference to coaching staff autonomy
Correct answer: Subordinating personal gain to rule compliance
Ethical standards require ADs to uphold rules even under pressure, prioritizing compliance over competitive or personal gain.
Question 4: Under NIAAA's Code of Ethics, which obligation applies when an athletic director has a financial interest in a vendor seeking a department contract?
- Negotiate the best price and proceed
- Disclose the conflict of interest and recuse from the decision (Correct answer)
- Delegate the decision to the head coach
- Award the contract to demonstrate community ties
Correct answer: Disclose the conflict of interest and recuse from the decision
The NIAAA Code of Ethics requires full disclosure of conflicts of interest and recusal from related decisions to protect institutional trust.
Question 5: A student-athlete reports a teammate's academic fraud to the AD in confidence. What standard guides the AD's next step?
- Maintain strict confidentiality to protect the reporting athlete
- Investigate personally before involving others
- Refer the matter to the appropriate academic integrity office (Correct answer)
- Inform the coach so team dynamics are preserved
Correct answer: Refer the matter to the appropriate academic integrity office
Academic fraud must be reported to the institution's academic integrity office, which has jurisdiction and proper procedures for investigation.
Question 6: Which action best reflects the principle of 'duty of care' as it applies to an athletic director's ethical responsibilities?
- Maximizing win totals to attract donor support
- Ensuring safe facilities and proper medical protocols for athletes (Correct answer)
- Granting coaches full autonomy over training methods
- Prioritizing media relations over athlete welfare
Correct answer: Ensuring safe facilities and proper medical protocols for athletes
Duty of care obligates athletic directors to provide a safe environment and adequate medical oversight for all student-athletes.
Question 7: An AD is asked to present inflated participation numbers to secure additional funding. Refusing to do so best illustrates which professional standard?
- Stakeholder management
- Honesty and truthfulness in reporting (Correct answer)
- Fiduciary duty to increase revenue
- Loyalty to institutional leadership
Correct answer: Honesty and truthfulness in reporting
Professional standards require athletic directors to report accurate data, as falsifying records violates honesty norms and can constitute fraud.
AD Professional Standards & Ethics 2
An athletic director discovers a booster is providing impermissible benefits to recruits without the AD's knowledge.
What is the AD's primary ethical obligation?