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Higher Ed Watch Blog Calls for More Budget Transparency

Echoing many of the prior recommendations made by the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, New America Foundation’s Higher Ed Watch blogger Lindsey Luebchow called for the NCAA, and possibly Congress, to provide more transparency and more detailed information about athletic spending. Since the Knight Commission reconvened in 2003, it has consistently called for improvements to

Recruiting expenses increase significantly for major college sport programs

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that nearly half of NCAA Division I athletics departments doubled their recruiting budgets from 1997 to 2001.  Additionally, “the 65 biggest spenders shelled out a total of more than $61 million in 2007, an 86-percent increase from 10 years before.” The Chronicle’s analysis is based on financial data reported

The relationship between academic policies and APR calculations

Inside Higher Ed published a point of view by Todd Diacon, Faculty Athletics Representative at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, in which he discussed the relationship between individual institutional academic policies and the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate (APR).  While Diacon notes that the APR provides a useful opportunity for institutions to examine how their

Academic penalties on Division I sport teams examined by USA Today

In a series of articles by the USA Today, the paper examines NCAA’s academic-related penalties to 200 sport teams at 123 Division I schools as well as the waivers given.  By comparing the penalties applied across the leagues, the report highlights a difference between the academic performance of teams in higher profile conferences as compared

Knight Commission Calls on NCAA to Shorten Basketball Season

[ Sessions and audio with experts and researchers on academic performance in men's basketball; and NCAA infractions ]

The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics held discussions on academic reform, potential changes in the basketball playing season, and changes to penalties for violating National Collegiate Athletic Association rules. The Commission called on the NCAA to shorten the season to reduce the number of missed classes and stress on players. It also commended the association’s academic performance program, but noted that a complex waiver process is threatening to weaken standards designed to hold programs responsible for the academic progress of their players.

The Limitations of NCAA’s Most Recent Financial Report

The Higher Ed Watch Blog recently evaluated the NCAA’s report on college spending on athletics and noted several limitations. According to the blog, the report’s usefulness is limited because it discloses only aggregate numbers and does not disclose individual institutional expenses. The issue is complicated by different accounting practices at each institution. Yet, this report

NCAA’s financial picture receives concern from media

Several recently published articles help identify concerns about the financial nature of intercollegiate athletics in response to the NCAA’s recent financial report, “2004-06 NCAA Revenues and Expenses of Division I Intercollegiate Athletics Programs Report.” The NCAA’s report demonstrated the median net deficit in generated revenues for Division I-A programs increased from $5.9 million in 2003-04