Valuable insights applicable to subsequent reform campaigns and the faculty role in college sports oversight were obtained via experience in the 1990s with projects related to environmental and national information infrastructure initiatives. For example, the campaign for systemic engineering education reform was the first to build on this experience. In turn, this campaign helped guide … Read more
The context within which college athletics functions is compromised academic integrity that enables out-of-control commercialization with its distracting influence on school officials, on America’s youth, and on the nation’s diminishing prospects as a leader in the 21st century’s global economy. All too often, secrecy, deceit, and deception, are hallmarks of the business of college-sports entertainment … Read more
The core problem of academic corruption in big-time college sports is directly related to institutional misbehavior. By this is meant that institutions of higher education have become masters of deception – scheming and cheating to field competitive, professional-level teams, especially in big-time (NCAA Div 1) football and men’s basketball. “The Gordian-knot-like dilemma in college sports … Read more
Federal tax policy will continue to force parents, students, and other American taxpayers to help foot the bill for multimillion-dollar salaries for coaches, ‘stadium wars,’ tax breaks for wealthy boosters, NFL and NBA minor league teams, and other artifacts of the big-time college sports arms race while the NCAA will work to effectively thwart any … Read more
Breaches of academic integrity exist at multiple levels in America’s higher education enterprise where integrity can be compromised by schools intent on winning at any cost. Rubber-stamp accreditation by weak, or, intimidated accreditation organizations make the breaching task a no-brainer for big-name schools. »Read more
There is a compelling need to require the NCAA and its member institutions to provide tangible evidence that their athletes function as real students. In the end, the implementation of these recommendations will help restore academic and financial integrity in colleges and universities supporting big-time (NCAA D-1A) sports programs, especially football and men’s basketball. »Read … Read more
Simply put, college presidents and administrators live in fear of violating the privacy provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). It is also ironic that FERPA is the very same act the NCAA and its member schools abuse for their own benefit — using the act to shield from public view the academic … Read more
In a nutshell, like graduation rates, the NCAA’s member institutions self assess and report graduation rates and academic progress rates without independent oversight. As Walter Byers, who served as NCAA executive director from 1951 to 1987, said when speaking of a college’s reporting on the necessary progress that has been made on the rehabilitation of … Read more
The House Committee on Ways and Means needs to zero in on intercollegiate athletics. A hearing would expose the NCAA’s secretive ways to the light of day. Furthermore, a hearing would call attention to the need for corrective actions that stress transparency (with related academic disclosure), accountability, and oversight – »Read the full article
The government’s favorable tax policies, viewed as entitlements by the NCAA and its member institutions, not only help fuel the athletics arms race, but also enable coaches as well as school, NCAA, and various big-time conference officials to gorge at a huge tax-free money trough. Putting an end to this practice could prove to be … Read more