Unfortunately, most, if not all, governing boards are populated with very wealthy boosters whose donations buy power to corrupt by compromising their school’s integrity and core academic values so as to enable it to compete at the highest level in the murky world of big-time collegiate athletics. This corruption thrives in the dark where creative … Read more
Over the years, the NCAA has not only made a number of rule changes that have emphasized athletics over academics so as to move their big-time football and men’s basketball programs to professional levels suitable for Unfortunately, until the Penn State scandal, scant heed has been paid to the mounting evidence of greed, corruption, and … Read more
The aim of the cover-ups is to protect the school’s reputation/image and legacy, its money-making and prestige enhancing athletics program, as well as to conceal bad judgments by school officials, neutralize material witnesses, and protect perpetrators. Cover-ups of non-sex-related scandals are relatively easy to execute since the events don’t generate the collateral damage and attention-getting headlines … Read more
NCAA President Mark Emmert said the NCAA has to resist the impulse to act hastily. “You’re dealing with young people’s careers and education. You’re dealing with institutional reputations. You’re dealing with a process that is, by its very nature, complicated, we have to get it right.” »Read more
Since deadly football violence triggered President Theodore Roosevelt’s intervention back in 1905, it seems that the immediate and long-term collateral damage related to the nether world of the athletics entertainment businesses at America’s colleges and universities has never exceeded the acceptance threshold of the general public or government officials. »Read more
It’s really all about making big money in the near term—money for the promoters, schools, conferences, and everyone involved.6 There are, however, notable exceptions—exploited counterfeit-amateur athletes.7 Many of these athlete-entertainers, so-called ‘student-athletes,’ do not have learning outcomes commensurate with a bona fide college education and have only a very remote chance of making it to … Read more
The latter question is likely on the minds of the Drakes as well as other reform-minded organizations and individuals. Will Secretary Duncan provide the leadership to change America’s dysfunctional system of higher education the mission of which has been hijacked by the sports entertainment industry, or, will he continue to flag problems but only provide … Read more
The University of Washington chief executive, a lifelong academic, vowed to “continue the traditions of academic accountability that we’ve launched” under Brand, “keeping our eye on that ball.”1 So what can the new NCAA president really do beyond “keeping our eye on that ball?’ As his predecessor Myles Brand’s tenure indicates, not much beyond superficial tactics that … Read more
Most Americans have been led to believe that sports programs are an extracurricular activity—an integral part of the fabric of the postsecondary education experience. They have also been led to believe that these programs play a significant role in America’s higher education system with beneficial impacts—helping to knit together the disparate supporters of these enterprises … Read more
Like the Yosemite and Yellowstone national parks, the athletics programs at America’s institutions of higher learning can be considered to be precious resources. As we learned from their tireless advocate John Muir, the parks can enrich the life experience of their visitors. Similarly athletic programs can enrich the life experience of college students. Unfortunately, both resources are … Read more