The Drake Group Praises Proposed College Athletes Bill of Rights: But Notes Significant Flaw in Massive Sorely Needed Reform Bill
The Drake Group applauds the legislative effort of U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Brian Schatz (D-HI) who introduced the College Athletes Bill of Rights on December 17, 2020. The bill is comprehensive and far-reaching, providing college athletes with long-overdue protections that should have been the responsibility of the […]
Collegiate Athlete Compensation Rights Act Misses Mark on What is Needed to Protect the Independent Publicity Rights of College Athletes
The Drake Group reviewed the Collegiate Athlete Compensation Rights Act introduced by U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R)-Mississippi on December 10, 2020. The stated purpose of Senator Wicker’s bill is to protect the rights of college athletes, to provide for transparency and accountability with respect to college athlete name, image, and likeness (NIL) agreements, and to […]
Failing to Confront the “Elephants in the Room” – The Drake Group Comments on the Knight Commission Proposal to Transform the NCAA D-I Model
On December 3, 2020, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics issued a formal report, “Transforming the NCAA D-I Model: Recommendation for Change” in which the Knight Commission called for a “reset” of college athletics, urging Presidents and Chancellors to play their rightful leadership role in demanding such reform. Unfortunately, The Drake Group believes the proposed […]
Drake Group Decries NCAA Infractions Decision concerning UMass Women’s Tennis and Former Athlete, Brittany Collens
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Drake Group decries an October 16, 2020, NCAA Committee on Infractions decision penalizing college athletes rather than the athletic program administrators who botched the computation of their scholarship checks. Over a three-year period, UMass athletic department administrators failed to properly compute payments when 12 athletes moved off-campus. Eight athletes continued […]
College Athletes Should Give U.S. House NIL Bill a “C+” Grade: Kudos and Criticism of The Student Athlete Level Playing Field Act
The Drake Group issued a position statement applauding The Student-Athlete Level Playing Field Act introduced on September 14, 2020, by a bipartisan group of U.S. Representatives led by Anthony Gonzalez (OH-R) and Emanuel Cleaver (MO-D). The Act, if adopted, would prohibit the NCAA and other national or conference governance organizations or their member institutions from […]
Drake Group Calls for Congress to Enact College Athlete Protections: A Legislative Proposal
On August 3, 2020, U.S. Senators Cory Booker, Richard Blumenthal, Christopher Murphy, Kirsten Gillibrand, Ron Wyden, Mazie Hirono, and Kamala Harris issued a “College Athletes Bill of Rights” statement that sought to advance justice and opportunity for college athletes and promised future legislation to realize their position. On August 13, they were joined by Senators […]
Drake Group Honors Nancy Hogshead-Makar, J.D. as Recipient of 2020 Drake Hero Award
The Drake Group is honoring Nancy Hogshead-Makar, J.D. with the 2020 Drake Hero Award for her determined and extraordinary efforts to advance the collegiate sports reform movement through persistent actions over the past thirty years. Hogshead-Makar’s leadership in addressing sexual abuse in sport, which began long before the recent horrific revelations in gymnastics, is path-breaking, […]
Drake Group Honors Johnasia Cash, Courageous Penn State Basketball Player, as Recipient of 2020 Drake Presidential Award
The Drake Group Presidential Award was established in 2017 to honor an extraordinary contribution by an individual or organization that has helped advance the integrity of intercollegiate athletics through a public action that demonstrates integrity, the primacy of educational objectives and the responsible and ethical conduct of intercollegiate athletics as an extracurricular enterprise. Johnasia Cash, […]
Who Says We Must Reform Collegiate Athletics?
Members of Congress, sport leaders, advocates and athletes – What they have to say about the need for collegiate athletics reform: Representative Donna Shalala, Senator Richard Blumenthal, Nancy Hogshead-Makar, Founder of Champion Women, Senator Cory Booker, Consumer Advocate Ralph Nader, former UCLA Gymnast Katelyn Ohashi, and Condoleeza Rice, Chair of the NCAA Commission on College […]
College Sports — Unwinding Madness
Extensively based on their work as members of The Drake Group, Gerald Gurney, Donna Lopiano and Andy Zimbalist present a cogent summary of the history, issues, and Drake recommended solutions to unwind the corrupting influences of highly commercialized college sports. From academic fraud, lavish expenditures inappropriate for non-profit institutions of higher education, the exploitation of […]