At its most recent meeting, the NCAA Division I Leadership Council discussed a variety of cost-saving measures that would be broad enough to help both larger and smaller institutions. However, the NCAA News reported that the board members “also believed that the topic needed a more expansive approach to make real headway toward reducing expenses.”…
On the heels of the 2010 NCAA men’s basketball tournament, Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education, published comments on the need for American major colleges and universities to impose policies which prohibit postseason competition of teams who fail to graduate at least 40% of their athletes. Stated Secretary Duncan, “It’s a low bar, frankly,…
The Raleigh News Observer published a commentary by Richard Hain, who discussed the concerns about the significant amount of institutional support for football and men’s basketball programs. Hain provides his ideas for a national approach to help universities realign their athletics programs with their educational mission. Richard is a mathematics professor at Duke University. “DURHAM…
Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal highlighted the Knight Commission’s 2009 presidential survey report in a commentary about the economic challenges in college sports. Author Connie Zotos stated that the report “confirms my belief that there are three issues that have existed for a long time that could best be described as collective and unwarranted…
The Miami Herald reported on the increasing use of student fees as one of several forms of subsidization used by colleges to pay for their athletics programs. The use of student fees is particularly significant at institutions without access to large amounts of revenue. At Florida International University (FIU), student fees are $14.51 per credit…
On March 10, the USA Today published an article detailing the rocketing increase in the salaries of college football assistants. Nearly a dozen schools in the NCAA’s top competitive division, the Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision, have made deals under which they will be spending at least 38% more on their offensive or defensive coordinator in…
According to a recent report issued by the State of Oregon’s Board of Education finance committee, the athletic departments at the University of Oregon (UO) and at Oregon State University (OSU) had financial deficits in the 2008-2009 fiscal year: OSU with a $5.9 million deficit, and the UO with a $642,000 deficit. Other state colleges…
The Reno Gazette-Journal reported on a February 3, 2010, meeting of the Nevada Board of Regents, at which scenarios were discussed in an effort to absorb a 22% cut in the state’s higher education budget. The cuts amount to $37 million this fiscal year and an additional $110 million next fiscal year. One of the…
On February 8, a district court judge in San Francisco on Monday denied the N.C.A.A.’s motion for dismissal in a class-action lawsuit headed by the former U.C.L.A. basketball star Ed O’Bannon. The ruling leaves the N.C.A.A.’s licensing contracts open to discovery. O’Bannon’s lawyers filed the antitrust suit in July, claiming that former athletes should be…
On January 27, the Indianapolis Star published a letter from University of Indianapolis President Beverly Pitts, in which she acknowledged the role of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics in helping to give Division II presidents the resolve to pass the recent “Life in the Balance” measures at the NCAA Convention. “Life in the Balance”…