NCAA President Charlie Baker took office in March 2023, and inherited several significant lawsuits regarding pay-to-play, name, image, and likeness, and health and safety issues. In response, in late 2023 Baker challenged NCAA member schools with a plan to create a new Division I tier in which schools would be required to pay a minimum … Read more
In the third year of college athletes being allowed to profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL), many college athletes have taken advantage of their new opportunities entering various types of NIL deals. While NIL has opened the door for these athletes to reap some of the financial benefits of their labor, it has … Read more
A stellar panel of Drake experts review college-athletics-related bills that have been filed or announced as “discussion drafts” in the 118th Congress (2023-2024) as of November 16, 2023 and discuss key questions. Is Congressional intervention in the conduct of intercollegiate athletics justified? Will proposed legislation protect the outside employment rights of college athletes, ensure fair monetization … Read more
A stellar panel of experts will explore what it looks like to truly cover the mental health needs of college athletes by moving beyond opinion and digging into the budget line items and numbers. After hiring a clinician or two, what are the other costs associated with college athletes’ mental health care? How are the investments currently … Read more
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, … Read more
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 … Read more
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
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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.” … Read more