Collegiate Sport Chapter 8

Introduction to College Athletics A significant segment of the sport industry Over 450,000 student-athletes at all levels More broadcasting of events each year Increased number of corporate partnerships Enhanced value of broadcasting rights contracts Increased number of international student-athletes Licensed merchandise can be found globally Conference realignment and expansion Emergence of conference and team TV networks

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 (no A.D.) As event popularity and pressure to win increased, students began to realize they needed external help. 1864: William Wood was hired by the Yale crew team as the first “professional” coach 1876: Intercollegiate Football Association: first form of governing association, student developed

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 in response to severe injuries, 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.) Question: Was the integrity of higher education being threatened by college athletics? 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

History (cont.) Continuous concerns: –Escalating costs of fielding athletic teams –Recruiting violations –Academic abuses and fraud –Behavioral problems of athletes and coaches –Commercialization and exploitation of student- athletes –Financial gap between athletic departments in the same NCAA division: the “haves” versus the “have-nots”

Women in College Athletics Initial intercollegiate sport competitions were run by men for men, reinforcing existing social attitudes. 1892: Senda Berenson introduces basketball to women at Smith College after modifying the rules 1896: 1st women’s basketball game: Cal vs. Stanford –Predominant theme of women’s involvement in athletics was participation 1966: Creation of the Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (CIAW) 1971: Became Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW)

AIAW Endorsed an alternative athletic model for women, emphasizing educational needs of students Early 1980s: 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 1981: NBC did not televise any AIAW championships and would not pay the monies due under its contract 1982: AIAW executive board voted to dissolve its association

NCAA vs NAIA vs NJCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is the primary governing body of intercollegiate athletics in the United States. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) was founded in 1940 for small colleges and universities. Current membership is approximately 300. The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) was founded in 1937 to govern 2-year colleges. Current membership is approximately 500.

NCAA Voluntary association –More than 1,250 institutions, conferences, organizations, and related associations Goal: Maintain athletics as part of education program 1956: Creation of “university” and “college” divisions 1973: Three-division system, Divisions I, II, and III, was created to increase flexibility of the NCAA in addressing member needs and interests of schools of varying size Two of the more prominent NCAA administrative areas are legislation and governance and academics. Enforcement oversees violations, imposes penalties

NCAA (cont.) NCAA annual convention of all member schools takes place, but the divisions also hold division-specific mini- conventions or meetings. In addition, each division has a governing body called either the Board of Directors (Division I) or Presidents Council (Division II and III). A Leadership and Legislative Council (Division I) or a Management Council (Division II and III) consists of presidents, chancellors, and athletic administrators and faculty athletics representatives from member schools. NCAA National Office enforces rules membership passes.

NCAA: Division I Supports philosophy of competitiveness, generating revenue through athletics, and national success FBS is for institutions that are somewhat larger football-playing schools, which must maintain certain attendance requirements. FCS is for institutions that are football playing, but do not need to meet attendance requirements. Approximately 100 Division 1 members that do not sponsor football

NCAA: Divisions II and III Division II: Awards athletic scholarships but on a more modest basis than Division I –Must sponsor at least 10 sports –At least two team sports for each gender Division III: Does not allow athletic scholarships –Emphasizes participation, placing primary emphasis on regional in-season and conference competition

NCAA Conferences Division 1 Member conferences must have a minimum of seven 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 Sponsor championships in at least 12 sports sponsored by member institutions in the conference May also provide a revenue-sharing program to their member institutions (e.g., Big Ten: $25 mil per team) Conference realignment: Current NCAA issue

Career Opportunities: Coaches/Athletic Directors Division I: Athletic departments usually employ a large number of associate and assistant athletic directors with specialized responsibilities. –Athletic director is more like “CEO.” Division III: Athletic directors wear many “hats.” Coaches are usually part-time, or if full-time, have other administrative responsibilities.

Career Opportunities: Assistant/Associate Directors Manage responsibilities in specialized areas –Business manager, media relations director, ticket sales manager, director of marketing, sport programs administrator, facilities and events coordinator, academic affairs director –Areas of growth (fund development, student- athlete services, compliance) –Other important areas (senior women’s administrator, faculty athletics representative)

Career Opportunities National Office –National offices of collegiate associations such as the NCAA, NJCAA, and NAIA Individual NCAA Member Conference Office –Employment opportunities in specialized areas such as compliance, conference championships, marketing, and sponsorship areas

Current Issues: Conference Realignment Since the spring of 2010, there have been 84 institutional moves affecting 28 Division I conferences. What is the motivation? –Increased value of conference television contracts –Football bowl payouts in the BCS games –Conference revenue sharing from new TV networks Case Study: Southwest Conference (1994) 2010: Pac-10 and Big 12 conference expansion 2013: “New” Big East realigns with no football 2013: American Athletic Conference formed with football

Current Issues: Jerry Sandusky Case In November of 2011, former Penn State assistant football coach was arraigned on 40 counts of sexual abuse of minors. Key administrators faced charges of perjury, obstruction of justice, and endangering the welfare of children based on their alleged awareness of incidents involving Jerry Sandusky and a minor. NCAA concluded that there was a significant lack of institutional control and a failure of institutional integrity.

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 of men’s teams while trying to increase women’s participation Case Study: Biediger et al v. Quinnipiac University, 2010

Current Issues: Hiring Practices of Minorities/Women Issue focused on college athletic director and coach hirings Annual Race and Gender Report Card (U. Central Florida) assesses the diversity and demographics of college athletics. In 2012, results indicated that 12.5% of FBS head coaches and 18.6% of Division I men’s basketball coaches were African American. Division I men’s basketball results were the lowest percentage since 1995–1996. Results for women’s basketball teams were not much better, with African Americans comprising only 14% of coaches. Women also represented only 8.2% of Division I athletic director positions, and 100% of FBS conference commissioners were white men.

Current Issues: Pay for Play Debate on if college athletes should be paid rages on. Student-athletes help generate millions in revenue. Ed O’Bannon, a former basketball player at UCLA, filed suit in 2009 alleging that the NCAA, EA Sports, and the Collegiate Licensing Co. are in violation of antitrust laws. The lawsuit seeks compensation for the use of players’ likenesses in EA Sports/NCAA-licensed video and was later amended to seek 50% of conferences’ TV revenues as well. Only 23 out of 228 Division I athletic programs showed a budgetary surplus in 2012.

Summary Sport management students and future athletic department employees need to be aware that intercollegiate athletics, as a major segment of the sport industry, are experiencing numerous organizational, managerial, financial, and legal issues. Future managers will need skills such as marketing expertise, strong public speaking and writing skills, creative and problem-solving abilities, and the ability to manage complex financial issues.