Inside Higher Ed reported that the nation’s largest college athletics programs are relying more than ever on institutional support to balance their budgets, according to the NCAA’s annual review of college athletics revenue and expenses. According to the report, only 14 programs from the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS, formerly Division I-A) generated more revenues than…
The NCAA announced it has released a database on single-year Academic Progress Rates (APR) for Division I head coaches in six sports, including football and basketball. The database was designed to strengthen the accountability of coaches for the academic performance of their student-athletes. The Head Coach APR Portfolio this year includes baseball, football, men’s and…
Inside Higher Ed published an article about how the NCAA’s benchmark for measuring the academic success of athletic teams, the Academic Progress Rate (APR), is weaker than originally intended when correlated to recent graduation rates. The NCAA uses the APR as a tool for each Division I athletic team to account for progress toward graduation,…
On July 3, the Birmingham News quoted former U.S. Representative Tom McMillen, a former college basketball star and an NBA veteran, in response to the Knight Commission recommendations to restore balance between academic and athletic spending among universities. The News reported the Knight Comimssion findings in Restoring the Balance: Dollars, Values, and the Future of…
“Restoring the Balance: Dollars, Values, and the Future of College Sports” Reveals Huge Disparities between Spending on Athletics and Academics Washington-(June 17, 2010) — Following an 18- month study of college sports finances, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics released today a report that calls for financial reforms in college sports. It includes three principles…
On June 12, the Minneapolis Star Tribune published an article noting the timely impact of the upcoming Knight Commission report about the finances of college sports, particularly in relation to the recent decision by instituions to jump from one conference to the next. The commentary, from Rachel Blount, stated: “Following the conference expansion saga has…
Jon LeCrone, commisioner of the Horizon League, responded to a recent op-ed from Dr. Karen Weaver about the impact of institutions from major NCAA Division I institutions choosing new athletic conference affiliations. Her response, printed in the Indianapolis Star, is below: “In her guest column published in The Star on Tuesday, Dr. Karen Weaver opines…
Karen Weaver provided commentary to the Orlando Sentinel on the potential economic impact of major college conference realignment to insitutions without access to significant streams of revenue. Her comments, published on June 7, are printed below: “Fans and observers of big-time college sports have been talking for almost 20 years about the possibility of the…
Inside Higher Ed published an article about a resolution approved by the Faculty Senate at Ohio University for the administration to reduce the amount of money from the institution’s operating budget used to subsidize its intercollegiate athletics program, arguing that the program’s “unsustainable expenditures” jeopardize the university’s ability to “prioritize academics. The report noted that…
While escalating salaries for head football and basketball coaches get much of the attention, compensation for assistant coaches is also on the meteoric rise. On May 19, USA Today reported the continued escalation of assistant football coaching salaries at major institutions, particularly those which compete in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). At the University of Tennessee,…