In its 2010 report, the Knight Commission recommended greater transparency of athletics finances for college sports noting that “real long-term progress in athletics financing across all NCAA Division I institutions requires the availability of clear, comparable, and complete financial data, together with strategies to improve accountability. The Commission also introduced new financial metrics that could…
The New York Times reported on recent moves by colleges to spend millions to replace their football coaching staff — moves that will result in reduced funding to academics and other sport programs. The Times reported on the decision at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville to cancel the $18 million transfer the athletics department had pledged…
Presidents and conference commissioners overseeing the new college football playoff announced a unanimous agreement to “share revenue, for the first time in college football history, based on academic performance as part of the funding formula.” USA Today reported that 10 percent of the total playoff revenue “will be tied to teams’ Academic Performance Rates (APR).…
The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported on comments by Tulane University President Scott Cowen regarding the need for collegiate athletic reform. Cowen recently served as an adviser on an Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges-issued report calling for enhanced board oversight of college athletics. “The Knight Commission did a survey of university presidents and…
MIAMI — (Oct. 18, 2012) – The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has honored former University of North Carolina president Bill Friday with a $25,000 contribution to a memorial fund in his name at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Friday, who died Oct. 12, was the founding co-chairman and inspiration…
Shaping policy and practice in intercollegiate athletics for the benefit of students and institutions Executive summary (PDF) Background In May 2011, the Knight Commission announced a new initiative to fund research on policy issues in college sports. The program was intended to enhance the Commission’s long-standing legacy of recommending policy changes to improve the management…
Tribute to William C. Friday (July 13, 1920 – Oct. 12, 2012) William C. Friday, the founding co-chairman of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, died on Friday, Oct. 12. He served as co-chairman when the Commission issued its landmark 1991 report calling for reforms to produce presidential control, academic and financial integrity in college…
The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics met in Washington, D.C. to hear research reports from higher education experts and scholars that reaffirmed the need for different policy approaches and stronger board oversight in college sports.
Research findings highlighted the widening divide in college sports between the “haves” and “have-nots,” and its potential impact on institutional finances, student tuition and fees. The divide also reveals itself in votes on NCAA rules that impact athlete well-being, academic standards and “the collegiate model.”
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The Washington Post recently reported about their interview with William Friday, co-founder of the Knight Commission and former President of the University System of North Carolina. “William Friday has seen the best and worst of college sports in a lifetime devoted to higher education. But at 92, he never thought he would live to see…