Food Insecurity Among College Student-Athletes-Most people don’t know that the majority of college athletes do NOT receive athletic scholarships. Most athletes who receive athletic scholarships are receiving partial awards rather than the amounts covering the full cost of education. While 42 percent of college students report being “food insecure,” that percent among athletes is 60 percent with 51 percent ... Read more
The Drake Group Strongly Supports “College Athletes Bill of Rights” Introduced in the 117th Congress-On August 3, 2022, U.S. Senators Cory Booker, Richard Blumenthal, Brian Schatz, Ron Wyden, and Alex Padilla re-introduced the “College Athletes Bill of Rights” legislation aimed at advancing justice and opportunity for college athletes. “The College Athletes Bill of Rights bill is long overdue and extremely important,” said Andrew Zimbalist, President of The Drake Group. “It protects college athletes’ rights ... Read more
Drake Calls for Independent Investigation of UNC Concussion Research Allegations-PRESS RELEASE – NOVEMBER 7, 2019 For immediate release For more information: Dr. B. David Ridpath, Ed.D. President The Drake Group www.TheDrakeGroup.org 740-677-2642 The Drake Group Calls Upon the U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General to Initiate an Independent Investigation into Allegations of Concussion Related Wrong Doing NEW HAVEN, CT – ... Read more
College Athlete Health and Protection from Physical and Psychological Harm-The Drake Group has released a position statement today that proposes an educational alternative to “athlete employees.” Drake Group President Gerald Gurney, stated, “Intercollegiate athletics is at a crossroads on the issue of paying college athletes. Should collegiate athletics be a mini-version of the NFL and NBA? See Drake's Position Statement for a viable alternative.
Excessive Athletics Time Demands Undermine College Athletes’ Health and Education and Require Immediate Reform-There is probably no more significant roadblock for college athletes seeking meaningful educations than the unreasonable amounts of time they must engage in practice and other athletics-related activities. In every NCAA and conference survey and through numerous research studies, athletes have made their concerns and needs concerning time spent on their sports known. Excessive athletics ... Read more
Collegiate Athletics Reform: A Collection of References from the National Catholic Reporter-As suggested in “Telling the truth on campus,” the presidents of our Catholic colleges and universities could be moved to solicit advice from their faculty and others on the place of the value-distorting, sports entertainment business in their schools. They might even go so far as to provide independently verifiable evidence that their athletes are ... Read more
Football’s dangerous – and for what?-A study found football players who had never suffered a concussion performed worse on basic memory tests as the season progressed. This newly discovered category of cognitive impairment presents a dilemma because the finding suggests athletes may suffer a form of brain injury that is difficult to diagnose and consequently could keep on playing even ... Read more
Caveat Emptor and Prospective College Athletes-Absent federal and/or state, Bills of Rights for prospective college athletes, Truth in Recruiting legislation, or NCAA Transparency and Accountability Acts, unwitting recruits face quadruple jeopardy, i. e., double-double jeopardy, when they buy into the recruitment packages proffered by NCAA member colleges and universities. This exploitation is especially hard on the academically disadvantaged. How might this be? ... Read more
