In our final column before the holiday break, we would like to take the time to thank all of our loyal friends, fans, alumni and supporters of Pitt athletics for the important role they play in making the University of Pittsburgh Athletics Department a special place. We are thrilled to share our triumphs with you. Certainly, our student-athletes have given us all a great deal to be proud of. They continue to be model examples of the true student-athlete, enjoying academic and athletic success while taking time to be active leaders in our local and campus communities.

Over the past semester, we have used this column to educate you about the NCAA, BIG EAST Conference and Institutional rules and regulations that directly relate to your involvement with our program. These rules govern your role as a Pitt "booster" as it relates to our athletics program, our student-athletes and the prospective student-athletes who may represent us in the future. Your understanding and attention to these rules is as essential to the efforts of our program as any of the other elements that factor into our success. By reading, understanding and abiding by the rules highlighted in this column, you too play an essential role in moving our program forward. A commitment to compliance is a shared responsibility that impacts all of us--from our administrators, to our coaches and also to you--our loyal fans. We all play a role in protecting the integrity of Pitt athletics.

As you may have seen in the past, negative publicity stemming from the violation of NCAA rules and regulations has compromised the integrity of other athletic programs, as well as negatively affected the perception of their accomplishments. Rules violations not only affect sports programs, but also have a significant impact on the entire University. In light of this fact, we all consider the operation of our programs within the scope of NCAA, Big East Conference, and institutional policies to be a shared responsibility, one that extends from every Pitt student-athlete and staff member all the way to each and every one of our fans and friends.

The protection of our integrity is vital to our goals as an athletic program and is something that we can all be proud to be a part of. This also makes you an important part of our goals.

As the semester comes to a close, we wish to thank you for your involvement in our program and your attempts to promote and protect the integrity of Pitt. Considering the key role that institutional integrity plays in our success, please never hesitate to contact the Office of Student Life and Compliance at (412) 648-8218 if you ever have any questions that relate to NCAA, Big East conference, and/or institutional policies. Many questions can also be answered by checking out our website.

We are glad to have you on our team. Happy Holidays and Hail to Pitt!

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