In 2004, several members of the Drake Group carried picket signs on the sidewalk in front of the Hyatt Hotel in San Antonio where the basketball coaches were staying during the Final Four. Liz Clarke from the Washington Post described the Drake members as “graying university professors trying to sell something radical. The product they’re … Read more
As a reading specialist at UNC-Chapel Hill, Mary Willingham met athletes who told her they had never read a book and didn’t know what a paragraph was. She said she saw diagnostic tests that showed they were unable to do college-level work. But many of those athletes stayed eligible to play sports, she said, because … Read more
From the New York Times By Peter Applebome BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — It’s not like there’s not enough going on at the cottage originally built as housing for shoe company workers. The two parakeets chirp. There’s a birth coming any day for the pregnancy and delivery counseling practice. There are classes to prepare for, a dissertation … Read more
Appalachian State University did not violate the academic freedom of a tenured professor who was placed on paid leave after students complained about disparaging remarks they said the professor had made on college athletes and about a film she had showed on pornography, the university’s chancellor has concluded. The chancellor this month rejected a faculty … Read more
B. David Ridpath, President Elect of the Drake Group, first contacted the Drake Group in 2004 during his ongoing battle with Marshall University over NCAA violations in the athletic department. Ridpath, in his new book titled Tainted Glory, documents his experiences as an assistant compliance director at Marshall. Former New York Times columnist, Robert Lipsyte … Read more
How Colleges Cope with a Perfect Storm Among other things, schools must confront sports related academic corruption, sexual abuse and serious drinking problems. By Frank G. Splitt, 10-03-18 Download as PDF Introduction – Though our nation’s sports-and-money driven colleges and universities are still considered to be the envy of the world, this exalted stature raises a … Read more
Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the Student-Athletes’ Right to Know Act last fall. This requires California colleges and universities to publicly disclose, among other things, their policies regarding sports-related medical expenses and the renewal or cancellation of athletic scholarships. A similar bill is before the Connecticut General Assembly. This bill is long overdue. Follow … Read more
Even the consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader, a relative newcomer to the debate over paying college athletes, was able to use the media frenzy around March Madness to launch his own proposal to eliminate athletic scholarships altogether. The tepid to hostile reaction his proposal brought in many circles, including at the NCAA, … Read more
Much to my surprise the NCAA, under the leadership of President Mark Emmert, has recently enacted financial aid reforms that I have supported for many years. Critics have argued that the changes amount to little more than “window dressing,” but a strong case can be made that the revival of multi-year scholarships makes athletes students … Read more
PRESS RELEASE – MARCH 22, 2016 For immediate release For more information: Gerald S. Gurney, President, Drake Group (405) 249-5835 geraldgurney@gmail.com www.TheDrakeGroup.org Drake Group Urges NCAA Division I Presidents to Support the Establishment of a Presidential Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics WEST HAVEN, CONN — Listing eleven current conditions that threaten the financial stability of college … Read more