It would appear that athletic departments and school administrators have developed a new art form – achieving and maintaining eligibility for college athletes pretending to be students. Faculty members willing to game the academic system are all that is needed to gain eligibility and even graduation for these athletes, thus allowing their school to reap … Read more
Frank Splitt questions the “quid pro quo” contributions from boosters and the boom in the leasing of stadium skyboxes by corporations and other big-money contributors as well as extortion-like seat taxes, that are fueling the uncontrolled growth of the big-time college-sports entertainment business. He points out that the federal government weakly enforces its Unrelated Business … Read more
Frank Splitt maintains that presidents cannot stand up to lead an effort to change the status quo in any meaningful way without risking termination driven by a storm of protest about economic impact and assorted tradition-based arguments by trustees/regents, boosters, alumni, and rabid fans. Presidents are pressured by their boards and boosters to approve costly … Read more
Frank Splitt questions whether college athletes in big time sports are bona fide students and whether the tax preferences afforded college sports are deserved. »Read the full article
A collection of essays published in national media and authored by Frank Splitt. Articles include: (1) Who Wants to Tackle Biggest Man on Campus?, (2) Sarbanes-Oxley and Disclosure Can Fix Budget Problem, (3) Handwriting on the Wall?, (4) Athletes Who Are Not Real Students, (5) Valuing the Science Course, (6) March Madness will go … Read more
Frank Splitt laments the Notre Dame decision to terminate the employment of head football coach Tyrone Willingham – breaking the university’s long-standing tradition of honoring its contract commitment to their football coach. The termination was accomplished by a small group of trustees and university officials apparently without listening to and taking seriously contrary voices and … Read more
Frank Splitt agrees with claims that America’s obsession with modern sports is eroding American life and undermining traditional American values essential to the well-being of the nation. Splitt addresses questions such as, “Have sports lost their relevance?”, ” Is sport just mindless entertainment?”, “Is our enormous investment in sports as educational tools appropriate for a … Read more
Frank Splitt presents a first person commentary on how he was retaliated against after writing an article critical of intercollegiate athletics. »Read the full article
A collection of 14 essays on the need for NCAA reform, all published in the national media during the 2004-05 academic year, all as relevant today as they were then,. Author Frank Splitt discusses the following topics: (1) The Economics of College Sports, (2) The Blatant Hypocrisy in Big-time College Sports, (3) Why the … Read more
This 2004 commentary by Frank Splitt is a sequel to his 2003 paper on Reclaiming Academic Primacy in Higher Education »Read the full paper