Colleges: Go Back to Basics
Colleges perform two vital functions: They disseminate to the people (especially their own students) the knowledge and wisdom acquired through time in ways that enhance the common good, and they also…
Did You Know? Student-Athletes Need Mental-Health Services, Too
Did you know that 92 percent of NAIA athletic departments wish they could offer psychiatric services designed specifically for their athletes? As mental-health awareness surges among higher-ed faculty and students,…
NIL Chaos Hits College Athletics
Since the Supreme Court’s 2021 ruling in NCAA v. Alston, collegiate sports have been roiled with confusion and a lack of clarity regarding name, image, and likeness (NIL) rules. When…
UNC System Athletic Directors’ Salaries Tell Us What Universities Value
As previously mentioned in this series, college sports are a big business. Businesses need managers, and, as such, colleges and universities have athletic directors. In college sports, the athletic director…
UNC System Coaches’ Salaries: An Intentional Mystery?
College sports are a lifestyle for many people and an indispensable business opportunity for colleges and universities. Many UNC System schools are perhaps better known for their sports teams than…
For Intercollegiate Sports, When is Enough Enough?
Intercollegiate sports, particularly football and basketball, have ever so slowly, over the years, inserted themselves insidiously into the fabric of most universities with the support of alumni, the business community,…
Recalling the Great UNC Sports Scandal—How Much has Really Changed?
A decade ago, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was engulfed in a sports scandal that made national headlines, brought down a chancellor who seemed destined for a…
The Sea Changes at the NCAA
Fifty years ago, I entered the University of Tennessee-Knoxville as a freshman scholarship runner on its high-profile track team. The NCAA held athletes to a strict amateur code in which…
College Athletes’ Payment Rights: A Question of When and How, Not If
College athletes’ rights, including their economic rights, have long been denied. American college sports have existed under an antiquated and oft-changing definition of amateurism that requires athletes to forfeit any…
The Edifice Complex Has Come for Esports
Collegiate esports—competitive video gaming—has grown dramatically in recent years. Small private colleges and large state universities alike have built programs to attract students, grow name recognition, and pull in sponsorships.…