Stop Lowering the Bar for College Athletes

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Stop Lowering the Bar for College Athletes

By Dr. Gerald Gurney Originally published April 10, 2011 For nearly 50 years, the NCAA has debated its minimum academic requirements for first-year students who hope to compete in big-time college sports. In its various attempts to ensure an acceptable level of precollegiate learning and skill competencies, the NCAA has vacillated between lowering and raising … Read more

It’s Time for the NCAA to Get It Right

By Christian S. Dennie and Dr. Gerald Gurney Originally published January 8, 2012 The NCAA has experienced a tumultuous year and an erosion of public confidence in its ability to control intercollegiate athletics on many levels. Against a backdrop of public outcry and allegations of major rules violations and cover-ups, the NCAA’s president, Mark Emmert, … Read more

Academic Fraud, Athletes and Faculty Responsibility

By Dr. Gerald Gurney and Mary Willingham Originally published July 18, 2014 The National Collegiate Athletic Association rarely admits to the need to revisit an infractions case, and particularly one that strikes at the core of academic integrity issues. So when the NCAA announced an unusual and embarrassing return to the University of North Carolina … Read more

The NCAA’s Miraculous Graduation Rate!

By Dr. Allen Sack and Dr. Gerald Gurney Originally published May 6, 2019 During the weeks-long buildup to college football’s biggest bowl games last December, it was hard not to notice that many of the teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 were having a lot more success on the gridiron than their players … Read more

NCAA Reform Goes Wrong

By Gerald Gurney and Dr. Richard M. Southall Originally published February 14, 2013 A decade has passed since the National Collegiate Athletic Association rolled out its academic reform package. In that time, there is strong evidence that the reforms designed to open access to higher education to more athletes and punishing coaches and institutions failing … Read more

Why the NCAA Continues to Work Against Athletes’ Best Interests

By Dr. Gerald Gurney and Dr. B. David Ridpath Originally published February 29, 2016 The NCAA slipped an important announcement by the public last month when the Board of Governors, consisting of 20 college chancellors and presidents, approved a contract extension until 2020 for the organization’s president, Mark Emmert. The board said Emmert had been an integral agent of … Read more

Don’t Reform NCAA – Replace It

By Dr. Donna Lopiano and Dr. Gerald Gurney Originally published September 11, 2014 Three weeks after a trial over the NCAA’s use of college athletes’ likenesses ended this summer, U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller’s Commerce Committee began hearings on the welfare of athletes and included testimony from NCAA President Mark Emmert. Amid the senators’ skepticism and … Read more