Minnesota Public Radio published an interview about the current status of college sports with author Taylor Branch and Knight Commission executive director Amy Perko. The discussion focused on how big money is having a greater impact on big-time college sports, from schools changing conferences to a renewed call to pay student athletes. The context of…
The Charleston Post & Courier reported on the continuing increase in the compensation of major college football coaches. From 1986 to 2010, the increase in pay for head football coaches far outpaced the increase in salaries for professors and presidents at major college football schools. Over the past 25 years, professors’ salaries at major college…
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an editorial about the recent scandals plaguing college sports. The editorial referenced the recommendations in the 2010 Knight Commission report, Restoring the Balance, as a basis for the paper’s own perspective. The editorial stated: “Last summer the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics — a largely powerless think-tank made up of…
Recently, the Independent Weekly (Raleigh-Durham, NC) interviewed William Friday, the founding co-chairman of the Knight Commission and president emeritus of the University of North Carolina System. Friday was asked for his perspective on the state of college sports today. A portion of the interview follows: INDEPENDENT WEEKLY: You helped found the Knight Commission in 1989…
Catholicsports.net published a commentary from Billy Reed relating to concerns about how recent scandals in college sports demonstrate that morals and values are being sacrificed to support winning athletic teams. Below is an excerpt of Reed’s comments: “In firing football coach Butch Davis, North Carolina chancellor Holden Thorp said he had “lost confidence in our…
An editorial in the Raleigh News & Observer supports the NCAA’s recent adoption of a Knight Commission recommendation to tie postseason eligibility of all Division I athletic teams to minimum academic performance standards. A clip of the editorial is below: “The tension between universities’ academic mission and major athletics programs often boils down to a…
Today, the legacy of Creed Black was published on the website of the Knight Foundation: Creed Black, editor and newspaper publisher and the former president of Knight Foundation, has passed away. He was a courageous journalist who will be remembered at Knight Foundation as a leader, in the field of intercollegiate athletics as a visionary…
The Charlotte Observer reported on comments from former Knight Commission Chair William Friday about the NCAA’s recent adoption of a rule tying postseason eligibility to minimum academic standards. A section of the article is provided below: Last week, some ideas championed for years by former UNC System President William Friday were implemented by the NCAA.…
Several news outlets have reported on the NCAA’s recent action in support of the Knight Commission’s recommendation to require teams to be on track to graduate a 50-percent of their players to be eligible for post-season play. The Knight Commission recommendation was initially proposed in its 2001 report and reiterated in its 2010 report, Restoring…
Today, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors adopted a policy requiring teams to meet an academic threshold to participate in any NCAA-sponsored championship or football bowl game. The threshold requires that teams be on track to graduate at least 50 percent of their players. This policy and threshold are consistent with recommendations the Knight…