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,…
“The Knight Commission believes that the issue of college sports finances is serious and systemic, requires collaborative solutions, and cannot be solved by one university president alone. The escalation in coaches’ salaries nationally has made it difficult for any one university to opt out. The Commission owes its effectiveness to the involvement of higher education…
College athletic teams at many of the institutions in the state of California’s higher education system are being eliminated or are proposed to be cut, according to a recent report published by The Sacramento Bee. After years of growth in the number of teams schools offer and the amount they spend on athletics, public universities…
Bloomberg News reported that the University of Texas (UT) is profiting from a decision to renovate its football stadium four years ago instead of investing in securities. According to UT Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds, the school’s annual debt payment from the football stadium construction is about $14 million, while revenue from the renovation is about…
For Immediate Release: April 27, 2010 Statement from William E. Kirwan and R. Gerald Turner, Co-Chairmen, Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics We would like to extend our congratulations to Mark Emmert on being named NCAA President. We look forward to working with President Emmert to promote our shared visions that college sports programs can and…
In response to the NCAA’s new 14-year, $10.86 billion agreement with CBS and Turner Broadcasting System to broadcast the Division I men’s basketball tournament, Knight Commission co-chairmen R. Gerald Turner, President of Southern Methodist University, and William “Brit” Kirwan, Chancellor of the University System of Maryland, provided a comment: “Today’s announcement of the new NCAA…
Inside Higher Ed reported on how NCAA Division I institutions are finding ways to keep their men’s basketball coaches, despite the skyrocketing cost of salaries following the success of the national tournament. Increasingly, costs are felt some of the smaller institutions to keep their successful coaches from moving to larger institutions which have access to…
The Chronicle of Higher Education‘s Brad Wolverton recently posted a blog which asked several individuals what the hiring committee should be asking. He posted the following as best responses: What would be your top three priorities as NCAA president? —Nathan Tublitz, past co-chair, Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics, and professor of biology, University of Oregon What…
Bloomberg News published an article which included an analysis of severance packages to athletic coaches in the six largest NCAA Division I athletic conferences. The article stated that $38.6 million was paid out as of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009. In all, more $79.5 million was paid out in the past three years…
The New York Times published an article with several viewpoints about the costs and benefits relating to expansion of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament from 65 to 96 teams. The NCAA is currently reviewing whether or not to opt-out of the current three year, $6 billion CBS television contract and renegotiate the contract seeking more…