Nicolaus Mills, a professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College pens his thoughts on the silence of St. John’s University administrators in response to Head Men’s Basketball Coach Rick Pitino’s comments following the failure of his team to qualify for the 2024 edition of March Madness.  READ FULL OPINION

By Sandy Thatcher, member of The Drake Group Board of Directors, who artfully pens his opinion on NCAA leadership. READ FULL OPINION

By Jon Ericson Met many sharp people and made many friends.  Sure, but a book club, bridge club, or square-dance gathering provides opportunities to meet new people.  True, but those I met in The Drake Group believed deeply in something, and they were willing to devote time and energy to work for that cause.  I … Read more

By William Rudelius The U.S. Congress is showing signs of life related to tackling the need for collegiate athletics reform. Why is Congress getting involved, and why should it step in and force reform of college athletics?  Answer:  Because the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) has become a trade association for commercialized collegiate football and … Read more

By Jon Ericson

Pageantry, tailgating, alumni gatherings, color, excitement, sex, violence, . . what’s not to like about college football?

Okay, there’s the pretend courses, the faux patriotism, noise piped in someone, somewhere thinks is music, drunk fans, high prices, uncomfortable seats, and the ubiquitous TV commercials and plays under review.

By Jon Ericson

Pay college football players? Want a better idea: give them back their game. Game time: lock up the coaches, and let college kids be college kids.

By Frank G. Splitt

The present commentary is still another attempt to illuminate what’s really going on in the continuing erosion of higher education in America. It also serves as a challenge to members of college and university governing boards to rise to the occasion and recognize that they are directly responsible for the actions of the leadership at their institutions—leadership that has led to an ongoing tragedy in higher education—excessive commercialization, the lowering of standards, and the graduation of students who can’t write or think critically and who won’t be able to compete in the global marketplace.

By Tom O’Mara

The correspondence below tells of my experience as a Division I athlete. I wish I could have met someone like me at the time, someone who had gone through the system, and was willing to be honest about it. At least then I could have made an informed decision on whether I wanted to play or not. I hope this can serve as a cautionary tale for prospective athletes and their parents.

It should be noted that Notre Dame has experienced several incidents of academic cheating this past decade which have resulted in suspensions from the football and basketball programs. It is not alone among major colleges in this regard. The problem has yet to be “cleared up.”

Frank G. Splitt – McCormick Faculty Fellow – Northwestern University – Evanston, Ill.

[“They all cheat” claimed University of Chicago President Robert Maynard Hutchins back in 1939 when terminating the school’s Big-10 football program.” […]

THE SIDE DOOR By Fred Klein, Drake Group Member, Arizona

A former Wall Street Journal sports columnist, see more opinions at Fred Klein on Sports (http://fredkleinonsports.blogspot.com/) It’s hard to shock people these days about the corrupt ties between sports and academe, but a case now playing out seems to be doing just that. This time […]