Clear and Present Dangers — Sports Gambling. NCAA and Higher Education Must Respond Now
On September 5, 2023, Julie Sommer, Executive Director of The Drake Group Education Fund, issued the following statement via a national press release, cautioning higher education and athletics leaders to take immediate action on college athlete gambling and improper relationships between higher education institutions and the gambling industry. Sommer warned, “A tidal wave of match-fixing, […]
Conference Realignment Decisions Ignore Impact on Health, Well-being and Education of College Athletes
There is probably no more significant roadblock for college athletes seeking meaningful educations than the unreasonable amounts of time they must engage in practice, travel to competitions, and other athletics-related activities. College presidents and boards of trustees continue to seek more favorable conference memberships pursuing the highest media rights fee payouts, ignoring the impact of […]
2023 Sack Symposium Proceedings
Check out the proceedings of the 2023 Sack National symposium including video recordings of each panel session, resource materials recommended by panelists, speaker bios, national award winners and more. CLICK HERE
WEBINAR 21 – Are Institutions Being Held Accountable for Delivering on the Promise of a Meaningful Education?
Are college athletes truly being provided with the education they were promised? How is that education being measured? Are there differences in the academic advising and treatment of athletes in revenue versus non-revenue sports and, if so, what are they? Are graduation rates the best measure of educational outcomes? Should other alternatives or additional measures […]
WEBINAR 20 – Name, Image, and Likeness 1.5 Years Out -What Have We Learned and Potential Pathways Forward
A stellar line up of expert panelists discussed the burgeoning NIL industry and its impact on intercollegiate athletics in America. Topics include the growth of “booster NIL collectives, protection of college athletes from unethical agents, and whether universities are educating athletes on financial literacy and IRS obligations. Significant Title IX and other gender equity issues […]
The Future of the NCAA — Transformation or Preservation of the Status Quo
Panelists discussed whether the NCAA Division I Transformation Committee’s proposed changes that are the next steps in shifting governance away from a centralized organization to the respective competitive divisions will result in a different and transformative reality or a continuation to the Division I commercial sport model — a quest for the proverbial “golden ring.” […]
Webinar #14: 2022 Sack Symposium Proceedings: Session 3: Name, Image, and Likeness — Chaos or Opportunity?
Given the 2021-22 recruiting chaos created by differing state laws, lack of NCAA enforcement of inducement and extra benefit controls, and the call for common guardrails, what should be the role of Congress? What do H.R. 850, the College Athlete Freedom Act sponsored by Representative Lori Trahan (MA) and other federal NIL bills propose? What is the current status of […]
Webinar #13: 2022 Sack Symposium Proceedings: The Drake Group National Awards “A Vision for the Future”
Included in this program are the presentations of national awards to Sedona Prince, University of Oregon basketball player and journalism students who have excelled in investigative reporting on intercollegiate athletics. Allen Sack, Co-Founder of The Drake Group delivers a keynote address. In the midst of the current governance, NIL and athlete exploitation chaos, can a […]
Webinar #12: 2022 Sack Symposium Proceedings: Session 2: Mandating A College Athletes Bill of Rights
How can Congress address the economic and educational exploitation of college athletes: lack of adequate long- and short-term insurance and medical expense coverage for athletics injuries, low graduation rates for minority basketball and football players, lack of professional codes of conduct that protect athletes from abuse. The panel examines Senator Cory Booker’s Framework for legislation mandating a College […]
Webinar #11: 2022 Sack Symposium Proceedings: Session 1: Giving College Athletes the Right to Unionize
Is it possible for Congress to give college athletes the right to unionize under the National Labor Relations Act in order to create a better balance of power between athletes and their institutions? How important is it to retain the athlete’s “student” relationship to the university? If athletes were allowed to “unionize,” should athletes aggregate by […]