Knight Commission Meeting on Oct. 9 to Present Latest Research on College Sports

Issues of financial sustainability and accountability in intercollegiate athletics will frame reform-focused discussion among higher education leaders

Who: The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, chaired by William E. “Brit” Kirwan, chancellor, University System of Maryland, and R. Gerald Turner, president, Southern Methodist University, will be joined by Rick Legon, president, Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities; John Casteen, president emeritus, University of Virginia; John Cheslock, director, Center for the Study of Higher Education, Pennsylvania State University; and others.

What: Researchers who won Knight Commission grants in 2011 to enhance the study of intercollegiate athletics policy will present their findings. Discussion topics will include the unsustainable path of sports spending in higher education, issues of oversight and accountability, the values guiding leadership in college sports, and recommendations and strategies for reform.
See agenda below for more information.

When: Tuesday, Oct. 9 from 9:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. ET
Media will have an opportunity to interview and speak with presenters and Commission co-chairmen at the conclusion of the final session.

Where: The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Salon I
1150 22nd St., NW, Washington, D.C.

Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics Meeting Agenda
A summary of the reports is accessible HERE. The complete papers can be accessed through the links below:

• 9:45 – 11:30 a.m. Public Session I: Presentations and discussions about the findings from the Knight Commission Research Initiative

Trust, Accountability and Integrity: Board Responsibilities for Intercollegiate Athletics
John Casteen, president emeritus, University of Virginia and Rick Legon, president, Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities. PDF. PPT.

Following a Problematic, Yet Predictable, Path: The Unsustainable Nature of the Intercollegiate Athletics System
John Cheslock, director, Center for the Study of Higher Education, Pennsylvania State University. PDF. PPT.

De-escalation of Commitment Among Division I Athletic Departments
Adrien Bouchet, Warren Clinic endowed professor of sport administration, University of Tulsa, and Michael Hutchinson, assistant professor of sport commerce, University of Memphis. PDF. PPT.

• 11:45 – 1:15 p.m. Public Session II: Presentations and discussions about the findings from the Knight Commission Research Initiative

What’s At Our Core? NCAA Division I Voting Patterns vs. Student-Athlete Well-Being, Academic Standards and the Amateur (Collegiate) Model
Josephine (Jo) R. Potuto, Richard H. Larson professor of constitutional law, University of Nebraska; Connie Dillon, professor emerita of adult and higher education, University of Oklahoma; David Clough, professor of chemical and biological engineering, University of Colorado. PDF. PPT.

Examining Administrator and Coach Perceptions of Value Systems in NCAA Division I Athletic Departments
Coyte G. Cooper, assistant professor of sport administration, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Erianne A. Weight, assistant professor of sport administration, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. PDF. PPT.

Competition and Control in The Gridiron Marketplace: Findings from the Intercollegiate Athletics Leadership Database
Jennifer Hoffman, assistant professor, Center for Leadership in Athletics, University of Washington. PDF. PPT.

•1:15 p.m. Media interview opportunities with presenters

About the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics
The Knight Commission was formed by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in October 1989 in response to more than a decade of highly visible scandals in college sports. The Commission’s goal is to promote a reform agenda that emphasizes academic values in a climate in which commercialization of college sports often overshadows the underlying goals of higher education. In June 2010, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics released its third major report, Restoring the Balance: Dollars, Values and the Future of College Sports. The NCAA adopted one of the report’s central recommendations in 2011 requiring teams to be on track to graduate more than 50 percent of their players in order to be eligible for postseason competition. More information about the Commission including its prior reports can be found at www.KnightCommission.org.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation advances journalism in the digital age and invests in the vitality of communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Knight Foundation focuses on projects that promote informed and engaged communities and lead to transformational change. For more information, visit www.knightfoundation.org.