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”…
On January 24, the Minnesota Daily featured an investigative report into the athletic finances at the University of Minnesota (UM), raising many issues about how athletics departments find ways to raise and spend money to remain competitive. The article considered the increasing pressures on athletics budgets from spiraling coaching salaries and the different ways that…
The Indiana Business Journal published an article about the rising concerns of the costs of college athletics, particularly as it relates to the current economic challenges in higher education. Escalating coaches’ salaries and the costs to build and maintain athletics facilities are signficant expenses which puts the economic stability of athletic departments at risk. “During…
Inside Higher Ed reported on a USA Today investigation which looked at financial data from the past four years from 99 of 120 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision institutions, and the extent that institutions were subsidizing their athletic programs. The article noted that a look at each individual school’s finances provides a more clear…
Inside Higher Ed published an article on the recent decision by NCAA Division II membership to approve new legislation which will reduce the athletic season in several sports. The “Life in the Balance” legislation will reduce the number of games that can be played or the time frame teams have for preseason scrimmages and practices.…
In the annual “State of the Association” address, NCAA Interim President Jim Isch told association members that the sustainability of athletics programs is “very much an institutional issue” and schools must use their best judgment to “find the appropriate value level of supporting athletics on campus.” Isch’s remarks were in response to the Knight Commission’s…
The January 15 New York Times reported on a speech by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to the NCAA at its annual convention in which he stated that college athletic teams which fail to graduate their players should receive stricter penalties than are currently being imposed. Secretary Duncan’s comments echoed the Knight Commission’s 2001…
On January 14, USA Today published a report on the cost of big-time college sports, and detailed the increasing use of institutional subsidies to support athletic expenses. The paper published the revenues and expenses of 99 out of 120 members of NCAA’s Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) from 2004-2005 to 2007-2008, and found only…
American Public Media’s Marketplace Morning Report broadcasted an interview with R. Gerald Turner, co-chair of the Knight Commission, on Wednesday, January 13. Turner discussed the Commission’s presidential survey findings about the unsustainable financial model of intercollegiate athletics. Link here to listen to the broadcast.