In recent years, college athletics programs have developed formalized internal structures designed to address problems related to equity in college sports. Responding to data and issues that the Drake Group addresses in its papers, these athletic departments created DEI offices staffed by professionals with expertise in college sports, academic excellence, and equity and inclusion. However, … Read more
Our panelists discuss the impact of a free agent transfer portal, college athlete compensation tied to revenue production value with no financial guardrails, and the prospect of collective bargaining, unionization, and “employee” status. What might employee bargaining units look like within the multisport and national construct of college sport? Only 2-3 percent of Division I … Read more
The House/Hubbard/Carter v NCAA settlement has raised concerns among many that colleges and universities could soon pay athletes directly, particularly in revenue-generating sports, through NIL and revenue-sharing arrangements with the majority of these payments going to football and basketball players. These payments are poised to nearly double due to Title IX gender equity obligations, and they would … Read more
In April 2024, the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report, “College Athletics: Education Should Improve Its Title IX Enforcement Efforts.” The GAO found that 93 percent of all intercollegiate athletic programs were not offering athletics opportunities to females proportional to their percentage in the full-time undergraduate student body. The overall athletic participation rate … Read more
The Drake Group Education Fund (TDGEF) is thrilled to congratulate Advisory Council member Ashleigh Johnson on her remarkable achievement of representing the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. As a world-class athlete, Princeton graduate, and dedicated advocate for TDGEF, Ashleigh is an inspiration to us all. The extraordinary achievements of Ashleigh and other … Read more
On February 7, 2024, National Girls and Women in Sports Day, U.S. Senator Christopher Murphy (CT-D) and U.S. Representative Alma Adams (NC-12-D) introduced the Fair Play for Women Act in the 118th Congress. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Representatives Lori Trahan (D-MS-03) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-1) co-sponsored the legislation. Donna A. … Read more
On December 5, 2023, NCAA President Baker proposed a new Division I tier in which schools would be required to pay at least 50 percent of their male and female athletes a minimum of $30,000 annually and have no limits on how much schools could pay individual athletes for use of their NILs. Pundits suggest … Read more
Representatives of the NCAA, prominent athletic conferences, and athletics administrators have been pacing the halls of Congress asking their Senators and Representatives for federal laws that would negate the patchwork of state laws that gave college athletes name, image, and likeness employment rights outside their education institutions. Such employment is a good thing for athletes, … Read more
On August 1, 2023, The Drake Group sent its fourth request to the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights asking that they issue existing Title IX guidance to colleges and universities to address sex discrimination in recruiting, publicity, promotion, and financial aid by name/image/likeness collectives (NIL collectives) they are directly and indirectly supporting. … Read more
WESTPORT, CT – July 18, 2023. Prompted by last week’s reports about systemic sexual hazing, harassment, racism, and other abuse in Northwestern University athletics programs, The Drake Group renewed its call for Congressional action on the College Athletes Bill of Rights, sponsored by U.S. Senators Cory Booker (NJ) and Richard Blumenthal (CT). The legislation would … Read more