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Recent academic scandals related to the intercollegiate athletics programs at a number of the nation’s most prestigious institutions of higher education reveal the absence of policy and practice that would ensure the primacy of academic study and the maintenance of academic integrity by institutions of higher education. The Drake Group believes that each of the … Read more
The Drake Group released a position statement that is highly critical of the NCAA’s Division I Academic Metrics. Drake Group President Gerald Gurney argues that “Academic integrity in intercollegiate athletics requires a system of checks and balances, transparent academic metrics and safeguards that ensure that learning occurs, not just that athletic eligibility is maintained.”
The Drake Group specifically calls for individual student tuition bills that are fully transparent listing the amount of the student fees and other general fund subsidies being used to fund athletics. David Ridpath, Chair of the Drake Student Fee Working Group, points to the fact that “This is an issue of access to higher education. … Read more
There is a current debate concerning the responsibility of the NCAA to afford college athletes protections against academic fraud and misconduct, as has occurred recently at the University of North Carolina, Auburn University, Syracuse University and other institutions of higher education. The NCAA reported in early 2015 that it had 20 academic misconduct cases currently … Read more
In April of 2015 the Big Ten Conference circulated a white paper, Education First, Athletics Second: The Time for a National Discussion is Upon Us, that proposed freshmen ineligibility for Division I football and men’s basketball players. The white paper argued that freshman ineligibility would benefit athletes academically, but that it should only apply to … Read more
Listing eleven current conditions that threaten the financial stability of college athletics programs and the academic integrity of higher education institutions, The Drake Group issued a request to NCAA Division I college and university presidents and chancellors to support H.R. 2731 (a bi-partisan bill currently before Congress) that would mandate the appointment of a Presidential … Read more
Alan Page is an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. Most people realize that Page, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, had a stellar athletic career while playing for the Minnesota Vikings. What many people do not know is that in 1988, Page and his wife Diane founded the Page Education … Read more
Check out a blog by a member of The Drake Group, listing the top issues that NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision athletic directors should be worrying about. Read more.
Apr. 8, 2015 COLUMBIA, S.C. — Murray Sperber, who has written extensively for decades about problems related to athletics at U.S. colleges, will be awarded the Drake Group’s highest honor, the Robert Maynard Hutchins Award on April 22. Sperber, an outspoken critic of basketball coach Bobby Knight and an ardent defender of academic integrity for … Read more
Over a year ago, a team of experts with close affiliations with the Drake Group approached the Drake Group executive committee to get its approval to begin work on a piece of Federal Legislation called the College Athlete Protection Act (CAP Act). The executive committee approved a final draft of the bill in November and … Read more