At the 2009 NCAA Convention, Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney McPhee and University of Georgia Athletics Director Damon Evans were the focus of discussion on institutional reforms to improve the academic performance of their athletic programs. According to the NCAA News, McPhee discussed his support of academic reform proposals and the implementation of Academic…
A recent report in the Columbia State Herald looked at assistant football coaching salaries in the Southeastern Conference, and raised concerns that they are rapidly increasing at a rate similar to that of head coaches. The concern of rising pay to assistant coaches has led to schools protecting themselves by creating buyout clauses similar to…
In an effort to provide more detailed academic data about college head coaches in all NCAA sports, the association has approved the decision to compile individual Academic Progress Rates (APR) for coaches. The data are intended to illustrate how well their players have fared in the classroom. The APR reports are intended for use by…
The Chronicle of Higher Education investigated the amount of fundraising for athletic endowments at the nation’s largest higher education institutions and raised the issue of priorities in relation to academic fundraising in the current economic downturn. The report stated that last year, 54 of the biggest sports programs brought in a total of $1.1-billion in…
As reported by Inside Higher Ed, at its annual convention last week, the NCAA revised its definition of “prospective student-athlete” solely for men’s basketball to include students in the seventh grade. The impact of the legislation will ensure basketball coaches can no longer work at camps at which seventh and eighth graders play; institutions are…
NCAA News Release The NCAA announces a new initiative aimed at addressing negative fan behavior and encouraging student-athletes and coaches to create a culture of sportsmanship and respect. The initiative, titled “Respect” and which will begin at this week’s NCAA Convention in Washington D.C., was spurred by the commitments of over 250 Division II institutions…
Insider Higher Ed published a commentary today, written by Tom Palaima and Nathan Tublitz, members of the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics. Palaima and Tublitz call on the incoming Obama administration to close loopholes that they believe have “perverted our higher educational priorities” resulting in greater investment in college sports entertainment rather than academic resources. They…
The Washington Post published an article noting the top 10 athletic programs in total spending, cost per athlete, the greatest football revenues, and the top 50 schools by athletic revenues. The paper analyzed equity in athletics disclosure forms from 2007, which NCAA member institutions are required to file annually with the U.S. Department of Education.…
Bloomberg News published a story featuring the salaries of the atheltic directors for nearly all the major NCAA schools in Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), with Jeremy Foley of the University of Florida ranked as the highest-paid athletic director. According to contracts obtained by Blooomberg through open-records requests, Foley earns a guaranteed salary of $965,000,…
University of Oregon biology professor Nathan Tublitz, who is also the co-chair of the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics, offered a commentary in the Eugene Register-Guard on the recent decision the the University administration to reschedule commencement in 2010 to accommodate hosting the NCAA track and field championships. Tublitz explains his opinion in the broader perspective…