Chapter 8

Collegiate Sports

Introduction to College Athletics

• Business aspect has grown immensely– Budgeting, finding revenue sources, controlling

expense items, participating in development activities

• Internationalization has grown tremendously through participation of nonresident alien student-athletes– New trend may be more global travel of college

teams, such as NCAA basketball exhibitions in European and Asian cities (ex: Memphis playing in China)

– NCAA clubs sponsoring coaches and teams from other countries (ex: Memphis hosting Chinese coaches)

History• 1852: Crew race between Harvard and Yale was

first commercial intercollegiate athletic event in United States.

– Sponsored by Boston, Concord, and Montreal RR Co.

• Initial collegiate athletic contests that took place in the 1800s were student-run events.

• As the pressure to win increased, students began to realize they needed external help.

• 1864: William Wood, first “coach,” was hired by the Yale crew team.

History (cont.)• Dangerous nature of football pushed faculty

and administrators to get involved in governing intercollegiate athletics. – 1895: Big Ten Conference was formed to

create student eligibility rules.– 1905: Intercollegiate Athletic Association of

the United States (IAAUS) was formed to make football safer to play.

– 1912: IAAUS changed its name to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

History (cont.)

• 1929 Carnegie Reports painted bleak picture of intercollegiate athletics, identifying many academic and recruiting abuses, payments to student-athletes, and commercialization of athletics.

• NCAA pressured to change to an organization that would oversee academic standards for student-athletes, monitor recruiting activities of coaches and administrators, and establish principles governing amateurism.

History (cont.)

• 1989: Harris poll found that 78% of Americans thought collegiate athletics were out of hand.

• 1989: Knight Commission formed, prompting NCAA membership to pass numerous rules and regulations regarding recruiting activities, academic standards, and financial practices.

Women in College Athletics• Initial intercollegiate sport competitions were run

by men for men• 1896: First sport contest for women was a

basketball game: UC Berkeley vs. Stanford– Predominant theme of women’s involvement in

athletics was participation.• 1966: Creation of the Commission on

Intercollegiate Athletics for Women • 1971: Became Association for Intercollegiate

Athletics for Women (AIAW)

AIAW

• Endorsed an alternative athletic model for women, emphasizing educational needs of students

• Engaged in a power struggle with NCAA over governance of women’s athletics

• 1981: NCAA membership voted to add championships for women in Division I

• 1982: AIAW executive board voted to dissolve its association

NCAA• Voluntary association

– More than 1,200 institutions, conferences, organizations, and individual members

• 1973: The current three-division system, Divisions I, II, and III, was created to increase flexibility of the NCAA in addressing needs and interests of schools of varying size

• Two of the more prominent NCAA administrative areas are legislative services and enforcement

NCAA: Division I

• Supports philosophy of competitiveness, generating revenue through athletics, and national success– 326 member institutions

• Division I-A is for institutions that are somewhat larger football-playing schools, which must maintain certain attendance requirements– 118 member institutions in I-A; 116 member

institutions in I-AA; 72 members in I-AAA

NCAA: Divisions II and III• Division II: Awards athletic scholarships but on a

more modest basis than Division I– Usually financed in the institution’s budget like

other academic departments– 282 member institutions

• Division III: Does not allow athletic scholarships– Emphasizes participation, placing primary

emphasis on regional in-season and conference competition

– 419 member institutions

NCAA Conferences• Member conferences must have a minimum of six

institutions in a single division to be recognized as a voting member conference

• Have their own compliance director and run seminars regarding NCAA rules and regulations

• Run championships in sports sponsored by member institutions in the conference

• May also provide a revenue-sharing program to their member institutions

• Conference realignment: Current NCAA issue

Career Opportunities: Coaches/Athletic Directors • Division III: Coaches are usually part-time, or if

full-time have other athletic dept. responsibilities.• Division II: Athletic directors may sometimes also

coach or hold an academic appointment.• Division I: Athletic departments usually employ a

large number of associate and assistant athletic directors with specialized responsibilities.

Career Opportunities: Assistant/Associate Directors• Responsibilities in specialized areas

– Business manager, media relations director, ticket sales manager, fund development coordinator, director of marketing, sport programs administrator, facilities and events coordinator, academic affairs director, or compliance coordinator

Career Opportunities

NCAA

• National office, as well as other collegiate associations such as the NJCAA and NAIA

NCAA Member Conferences

• Employment opportunities in compliance, conference championships, marketing, and sponsorship areas

Current Issues: Title IX/Gender Equity• How to comply with Title IX given institutional

financial limitations is a challenge• Numerous institutions are choosing to eliminate

sport programs and funding for the overrepresented sex (usually men’s teams)

• Increasing participation and funding opportunities for female student-athletes is another method

• Roster management: Capping roster sizes for men’s teams

Current Issues: Hiring Practices of Minorities/Women• 2003–2004: 7.2% of athletic directors, 8.8% of

head coaches of men’s teams, and 8.2% of coaches of women’s teams were black.

• 2003–2004: Women held 7.8% of Division I, 16.7% of Division II, and 27% of Division III athletic director positions.

• Issue continues to demand attention in the hiring of college athletic directors and coaches.

Current Issues: Academic Reform• In an attempt to increase the graduation rates of

student-athletes, Proposition 16 went into effect in 1996–1997: Student-athletes were required to possess a minimum GPA in 13 core courses with a corresponding SAT score along a sliding scale.

• New legislation, Bylaw 14.3, institutes a new sliding scale (GPA/SAT combination) with more core courses required.

Current Issues: Academic Reform (cont.)• Academic Progress Rate

calculated by a combination of points per student and those on the team.

• Team penalized if they are below 950 total—predictor score of a 60% graduation rate.

• Div. I board of directors allocated up to $10 million to help student-athletes graduate.

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Current Issues: Gambling• Head football coach Rick Neuheisel, University of

Washington, dismissed in June 2003 for participating in a gambling pool on the NCAA basketball tournament

• 35% of male student-athletes and 10% of female student-athletes engaged in gambling or sport wagering activities

• Recommendations: Expanding education efforts, proposed NCAA legislation, and suggestions for state and federal legislation

Current Issues: Drug Testing• 1990: NCAA adopts drug testing plan for

championships and postseason events—testing is for street drugs, performance enhancers, urine manipulators, and masking agents

• Testing is outsourced to National Center for Drug Free Sport

• Now increased testing, with some year-round for performance enhancers and as a result of prior positive test

Current Issues: Internet Communications• Use of new technology for recruiting purposes

• Infiltrated collegiate sports via social networking sites (Facebook.com, MySpace.com, and Badjocks.com)– Some coaches ban athletes from using the sites

because of the bad behavior and the likelihood of initiating improper contact with fans

– Questions about privacy issues with this topic