Editorials Opinion Archives - The Drake Group, Inc.

All-Star Panel Speaks on College Athletes’ Rights to Monetize Their Own Names, Images and Likenesses

Katie Lever, member of the The Drake Group Board of Directors and its Chief Communications Officer joins Jay Bilas, Maddie Salamone, Marc Edelman, Christina Chenault for a Power Check Ball Podcast discussing the end of NCAA restrictions on college athletes making money from endorsements outside their participation in intercollegiate athletics. LINK to: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-4-nil-a-live-celebration-feat-an-all-star-panel/id1572131357?i=1000528338120

Implication of the Alston Supreme Court Decision on College Athlete Compensation

Andrew Zimbalist, Smith College and President-Elect of The Drake Group, speaks on the implication of the June on the implications of the Supreme Court decision on compensation for college athletes on the June 23, 2021 Bloomberg Baystate Business Podcast: The Truth LINK

Drake Director Sommer Pens Seattle Times Op-Ed on Senate Athlete NIL Hearing

Julie R. Sommer is a Seattle attorney, a former collegiate swimmer at the University of Texas and U.S. National Team member and serves on the Board of Directors of The Drake Group, a national think tank dedicated to academic integrity and advocacy on behalf of college athletes. She pens an insightful op-ed on the role … Read more

Message To Congress On NCAA Reform: NIL Income Yes, Cash Income No

By Dr. Andrew Zimbalist and Dr. Donna A. Lopiano Originally published September 15, 2020 Thirty-four states have proposed or passed legislation to allow their college athletes to earn income from their names, images, and likenesses (NILs). Unfortunately, there is considerable variation in what these bills provide. It would be unworkable for colleges in the same … Read more

Sports Hiatus Gives NCAA an Opportunity to Rethink the Structure of College Sports

By Dr. Gerald Gurney, Dr. Donna A. Lopiano and Dr. Andrew Zimbalist Originally published April 25, 2020 Tragedy begets opportunity, calling to mind the old admonition to “never waste a good crisis.” Educators and college athletic administrators should heed those words during the current hiatus from competition and develop a plan to redirect college athletics toward … Read more

Has Higher Education Lost Its Mind?

By Dr. Donna Lopiano and Dr. Andrew Zimbalist Originally published June 13, 2020 On June 12, the University of Houston suspended all athlete workouts when six players tested positive for COVID, less than two weeks after June 1 when college fall sports teams were allowed to return campus for supposedly voluntary summer workouts. Why the rush? As … Read more

Theater of the Absurd and the Immoral: College Football 2020

By Dr. Donna Lopiano and Dr. Andrew Zimbalist Originally published June 28, 2020 College coaches, faced with justifying why they were bringing fall sports athletes back to campus for voluntary on-campus workouts in June when the U.S. pandemic was not close to being under control, came up with some pretty compelling storylines. They argued and … Read more

College Sports’ Bait and Switch

By Dr. Gerald Gurney and Dr. Richard M. Southall Originally published August 9, 2012 Last month, the NCAA announced its latest team Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores, highlighting the institutions whose four-year averages fell below the 900 threshold score. Among the offending teams was notably the University of Connecticut, which will be ineligible for the … Read more

Professors Must Speak Out: Colleges Can No Longer Afford Athletics as Usual

By Dr. Gerald Gurney and Jerome C. Weber Originally published April 5, 2010 Basketball fans will focus tonight on the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s men’s championship game, but amid the excitement of such competition, attention must be paid to how big-time college sports still operate in ways counter to higher education’s aims. Although the NCAA … Read more

A Better Way to Measure Coaches’ Wins and Losses

By Dr. Gerald Gurney and Jerome C. Weber Originally published October 24, 2008 College athletics, especially men’s basketball and football, enjoy a unique and central role in American higher education. They bring great visibility to their institutions. Yet while college sports excite and electrify millions with performance and spectacle, their positive attributes have become increasingly … Read more