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STUDENT-ATHLETE HANDBOOK - SECTION 1

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Student-Athlete Grievances

The Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA) is fully committed to the health, safety and well-being of all student-athletes.  If a student-athlete feels he or she has been subjected to improper treatment by a University of Illinois employee or fellow student, he or she is encouraged to notify the appropriate individuals to address the issue.

The following procedure provides multiple avenues of reporting to encourage prompt, positive and equitable resolution of all grievances and ensure fair treatment for all involved parties. The DIA and University do not tolerate retaliation against those making a complaint or otherwise participating in the grievance process (e.g., witness). To avoid bias or conflicts of interest, the DIA and University will make every effort to ensure that those named in a complaint, or too closely associated with those involved in the complaint, will not be part of the investigative team or efforts. The DIA and University reserve the right to utilize a neutral third-party investigator to respond to grievances or allegations of misconduct. The student-athlete should make a reasonable effort to bring forward any grievance or allegations of misconduct so the DIA and University may resolve problems and stop misconduct.

While this student-athlete grievance procedure is not intended to address all forms of misconduct (e.g., unlawful discrimination, harassment or retaliation under Title IX), this procedure provides additional resources that student-athletes may utilize to address such misconduct. It is the goal of the DIA to clearly communicate to all student-athletes the various resources available within the DIA and on campus to promptly address grievances or misconduct. Therefore, a student-athlete is encouraged to utilize any of the grievance procedures listed below.

Procedure for grievances related to treatment by coaches, staff or student-athletes

  • A student-athlete need not follow the steps in this procedure in any particular order and may utilize any of the described reporting resources within or outside of the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics to raise a concern.
  • The student-athlete is encouraged to discuss the problem or concern in a timely manner with any member of his or her coaching staff with whom the athlete feels comfortable to promptly and effectively resolve the grievance. The student-athlete may choose voluntarily to approach the individual(s) most directly responsible (e.g., if the matter involves a team policy established by the coach, the student-athlete may contact the coach and/or the captain(s) of the team and work to resolve the issue with the coach).

However, the student-athlete is not required to directly confront any person(s) who are the source of the problem or misconduct, or closely associated with the person(s) who is the source of the problem or misconduct. Instead, the student-athlete may utilize any of the other various avenues of reporting or grievance within the DIA or other University resources.

  • The student-athlete may report a problem or grievance in a timely manner to the applicable sport administrator. The sport administrator will meet in person or otherwise communicate directly with the student-athlete to attempt to resolve the issue or grievance. Likewise, the student-athlete may report a problem or grievance to any other sport administrator or any member of DIA administration with whom the student-athlete feels comfortable.
Sport Administrator Sport(s) Email Phone
Josh Whitman Football, Men’s Basketball jwhitman@illinois.edu 217-333-3631
Sara Burton Women’s Basketball, Men’s Gymnastics, Women’s Gymnastics, Softball sarab4@illinois.edu 217-300-8112
Roger Denny Football (secondary) rdenny@illinois.edu    217-333-0745
Breanna Robinson Cross-Country, Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Track and Field, Volleyball bcrobin@illinois.edu 217-333-1831
Brian Russell Baseball, Men’s Basketball, Men’s and Women’s Golf, Soccer, Wrestling brussui@illinois.edu 217-300-8229

  • A student-athlete may report a problem or grievance in a timely manner to Ryan Squire, Senior Associate Athletic Director/Chief Integrity Officer.
  • The student-athlete may elect to initiate a formal grievance to the Director of Athletics. In such a case, the following steps shall be followed:
  1. The written grievance shall be submitted to the Director of Athletics (illiniad@illinois.edu) and must be filed in a timely manner so the DIA and/or University can promptly and effectively respond to student-athlete concerns. The written grievance must set forth the facts of the complaint, the grounds on which it is based, and details of any efforts taken to date to resolve the matter.
  2. The Director of Athletics shall provide a copy of the student-athlete’s written grievance and any relevant related information and documentation to the Chief Integrity Officer, the applicable Faculty Representative and the Office of the Chancellor.
  3. The Director of Athletics shall be responsible for initiating a timely and comprehensive review of the grievance. The Director may designate other DIA and/or University personnel such as the Chief Integrity Officer, Sport Administrator and/or Faculty Representatives to conduct or assist with the review. Other University or external personnel will be involved as needed to properly review a grievance. For example, a grievance related to treatment by a sports medicine staff member may involve a review by a team physician.
  4. The Director of Athletics (or his/her designee) shall issue a final decision in writing to the student-athlete. The written decision shall be copied to the sport administrator, the Office of the Chancellor and the applicable Faculty Representative and shall include a statement of the decision, a description of the process used to reach the decision and the rationale for the outcome.

Additional Reporting and Support Resources

•    Student-athletes may, at any time, contact Faculty Athletics Representatives Brenda Lindsey (blindsey@illinois.edu) and Tiffany White (tbwhite@illinois.edu) for assistance with academic issues or issues of student-athlete welfare.

•    Student-athletes may, at any time, contact the Student Assistance Center in the Office of the Dean of Students (helpdean@illinois.edu or 217-333-0050). In the Student Assistance Center, Assistant Deans help students understand university policies and procedures, educate them about and connect them to campus resources, and support students in crisis.

•    Cases involving possible Title IX violations, discrimination on the basis of sex (i.e., sex discrimination), including sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual violence, may be reported by a student-athlete to a coach, sports administrators, any member of DIA administration, Athletics Director, the Title IX and Disability Office (844-616-7978, titleixcoordinator@illinois.edu) or to the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Access (217-333-0885, diversity@illinois.edu) if the discrimination or harassment was allegedly perpetrated by an employee. The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Access will conduct any resulting investigation, if necessary, related to sexual harassment, Title IX or unlawful discrimination. If the harassment or discrimination was allegedly committed by another student, the student-athlete may also contact the Office for Student Conflict Resolution (217-333-3680 or conflictresolution@illinois.edu) or the Emergency Dean (217-333-0050) for investigation and resolution under the student disciplinary system procedures.  Reports of sexual misconduct shall be promptly investigated and also reported to the University of Illinois Police Department (217-333-1216).  Employees who fail to report alleged or suspected violations of this policy to the appropriate campus office in a timely manner may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

•    Through the Office of the Dean of Students, students may report acts of intolerance (i.e., acts of stereotypes and bias on campus) in the following ways: (1) if injured or if there is concern of immediate danger, call 911 or 9-911 from a campus phone; (2) send an e-mail to tolerance@illinois.edu; (3) submit an anonymous report online to go.illinois.edu/intolerance; (4) contact the Office of the Dean of Students 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 217-333-0050; or (5) report to any University official.

•    In cases of possible violations of University policies or ethical violations, student-athletes may contact a coach, sports administrators, any member of DIA administration, the DIA Relations Team, the Athletics Director, or the University of Illinois Ethics and Compliance Office via the toll-free EthicsLine (866-758-2146 or by email at ethicsofficer@illinois.edu; may report anonymously). The University Ethics and Compliance Office will conduct or direct any investigation related to violations of University policies or ethical violations.

•    Hazing is a violation of Illinois state law. Student-athletes who feel they have been victims of hazing may contact a coach, sport administrator, any member of DIA administration, the DIA Relations Team, the Athletics Director, or the Dean of Students (helpdean@illinois.edu or 217-333-0050)

•    Student-athletes may report possible violations of NCAA rules to the sport administrator, the Director of Athletics, the Associate Athletic Director for Compliance (217-333-5731), any member of the DIA Compliance staff or may anonymously report via the web at http://www.fightingillini.com/compliance/reportaviolation.html. The Compliance Office shall conduct any investigation, if necessary, related to potential violations of NCAA rules.

•    Note that there are specialized grievance procedures regarding transfer grievances (denials of the one-time transfer exception and/or permission to contact) and cancellations/reductions of athletic aid. These procedures are published annually in the Student-Athlete Handbook.