The NCAA Is Playing The Ball In The Wrong Court
The Drake Group President-Elect Andrew Zimbalist and Drake Board of Directors member Julie Sommer wield a mighty pen with a timely critique of the NCAA’s efforts in the courts to protect its profits – revenues derived from the labor of talented, hard-working—and disproportionately Black—college athletes, especially those playing in the women’s and men’s Final Four […]
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 […]
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 […]
Reflections, 2016-19: A Sequel to an Odyssey of Reform Initiatives, 1986-2015.
Reflections, 2016-19: A Sequel to an Odyssey of Reform Initiatives, 1986-2015. Dr. Frank Splitt, Longtime Drake Group Member and Recipient of the Robert Maynard Hutchins Award, has posted a sequel to his 1986-2015 Odyssey of Reform Initiatives. A prolific and nationally respected voice advocating for intercollegiate athletics reform, this new collection of writings continues to […]
Drake Group Urges NCAA Division I Presidents to Support the Establishment of a Presidential Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics
Listing eleven current conditions that threaten the financial stability of college athletics programs and the academic integrity of higher education institutions, The Drake Group issued a request to NCAA Division I college and university presidents and chancellors to support H.R. 2731 (a bi-partisan bill currently before Congress) that would mandate the appointment of a Presidential […]
Reclaiming Academic Primacy in Higher Education: The Revised IRS Form 990 Can Accelerate the Process
The revised Form 990, “Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax,” filed by many public charities and other exempt organizations, has the potential to fully expose the Achilles’ Heel of the NCAA and its member institutions – the extremely weak, if any, educational basis for the current financial structure of big-time college sports. This would […]
Congress Granting a Conditional Limited Antitrust Exemption to the NCAA and Its Member Institutions
Absent an antitrust exemption, which only the Congress can provide, the NCAA will continue to be the target of antitrust lawsuits whenever it tries to implement educationally defensible reforms that have commercial consequences.
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 […]
Establishment of a Presidential Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics Reform
In March of 2015, The Drake Group has released a position statement in support of a bipartisan-sponsored bill being considered by the 114th Congress (H.R. 275) that would establish a Presidential Commission “to identify and examine issues of national concern related to the conduct of intercollegiate athletics and to make recommendations for the resolution of […]
After Penn State Scandal, Congress Should Make NCAA put Students, Education First
In light of the scandal at Penn State, which reveals how big-time college sports often overwhelm the core values of higher education, Congress should closely examine whether the NCAA is running a not-for-profit enterprise or a commercial entertainment empire. Follow this link to read the Christian Science Monitor article