"Defending Academic Integrity in the Face of Commercialized College Sport"
The Second Meeting
Saturday, March 25, 2000
College athletics has been transformed into a multi-billion dollar entertainment industry that has compromised the academic mission of
the university. To restore academic integrity, to fulfill our obligation as faculty, and to protect the welfare of all students, we propose that:
1. Faculty and administrators abandon the use of the term "student-athlete". Students who participate in athletics shall be referred to as
students, or athletes, but not "student-athletes".
2. Faculty senates oversee and control the academic counseling and support programs for athletes, and universities shall remove control
of these functions from athletic departments. In addition, universities shall provide academic support for all students, and abandon the
practice of providing academic support on the basis of athletic status.
3. Universities publicly disclose the academic major, academic adviser, courses listed by academic major, general education
requirements, and electives, including course GPA and instructor for all students. No individual's grades will be disclosed.
The university will disclose for each intercollegiate athletic team the courses enrolled in by team members, the average of the grades
given in the course, and instructor of the course at the end of the semester.
Because the Buckley Amendment is invoked to prevent academic accountability, disclosure may require a challenge to the amendment
and to the way universities interpret it.
4. Universities reduce the number of intercollegiate athletic contests.
5. Universities eliminate "athletic scholarships" while expanding the availability of need-based aid. Until such time that scholarships are
eliminated, faculty senates should ensure that athletes who face contradictory demands from coaches and faculty can defer to the latter
without losing financial aid.