This resource page includes links to reports and letters outlining the Knight Commission’s proposals to reform the governance, structure and policies of NCAA Division I college sports. Resources also include research and surveys that the Commission conducted to develop its proposed solutions.
The major reports or recommendations this series include:
- Knight Commission’s Response to NCAA’s Project D1 proposals
- C.A.R.E. Model (Connecting Athletics Revenue with the Educational Model of College Sports)
- Transforming the D-I Model: Recommendations for Change in D-I Governance and Structure
- Name, Image and Likeness Principles, Recommendations and Resources
- Improving Racial Equity in College Sports
Connecting Athletics Revenue with the Educational Model of College Sports (C.A.R.E. Model)
Released on September 15, 2021
Read the Full Report Here: Connecting Athletics Revenue with the Educational Model of College Sports (C.A.R.E. Model)
Transforming the NCAA D-I Model: Recommendations for Change
Released on December 3, 2020
Read the Full Report Here: Transforming the NCAA D-I Model: Recommendations for Change
Communication on Constitution Committee
- March 7, 2023 Letter to the NCAA Division I Vice President
- December 9, 2021 Letter to NCAA Constitution Committee
- October 21, 2021 Letter to NCAA Division I Board of Directors
- August 31, 2021 Letter to NCAA Consitution Committee
Legal Assessments of our Proposed D-I Model
Two legal reviews of our report analyze its legal implications:
Endorsements
The Knight Commission’s report, “Transforming the D-I Model: Recommendations for Change,” is winning over important voices among Division I stakeholders, including Big West Conference and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Response to NCAA President Mark Emmert’s Remarks on Division I Reform
The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics also presented a series of four public forums examining the NCAA Division I model and the need for reform.
Series Recap and Study
- View a summary of the first three sessions of the series.
- Study: Literature Review of Division I Athletics Reform, Oct. 2020
Session 4 – Recommendations for Change
- Session Date: Thursday, Dec. 3
- Press Release: Knight Commission Recommends a New Governing Structure for the Sport of FBS Football
- Full Report: Transforming the NCAA D-I Model: Recommendations for Change
- Session Slide Deck Highlights
- Session Video Recording
Session 3 – What D-I Leaders Think: New Survey Findings about Reform
- Session Date: Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020
- Press Release: Groundbreaking Knight Commission Survey Finds Division I Leaders Overwhelmingly Support Major Reform
- D-I Leaders’ Survey Report Materials:
- Session Slide Deck Highlights
- Session Video Recording
Session 2 – A New Analysis of the D-I Revenue Distribution Formula Inequities
- Session Date: Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020
- Press Release: Knight Commission to Seek Changes to How NCAA Distributes March Madness Revenue
- Study: An Assessment of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) Football Factors on National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”), Division I 2018 Revenue Distribution
- Letter to Dr. Mark Emmert, President, NCAA, sent on Oct. 26, 2020
- Session Slide Deck
- Session Video Recording
Session 1 – Follow the Money: Breaking Down D-I Finances
- Session Date: Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020
- Session Slide Deck
- Session Video Recording
Name, Image, and Likeness Principles, Recommendations and Resources
April 3, 2020
Knight Commission Examining Major Restructuring of College Athletics
- December 16, 2019
- Press Release
- Letter to NCAA President Mark Emmert
The Knight Commission announces it will examine new models to restructure college sports, citing the challenges created by the “highly commercialized environment” for Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football and some NCAA Division I sports, particularly men’s basketball. The letter notes that FBS football is the only sport for which the NCAA doesn’t conduct a championship, even though FBS football is recognized by the NCAA for membership and revenue distribution purposes. The review will not only examine the broad impact of FBS football but will also assess how FBS football impacts NCAA revenue distributions, which come from the NCAA’s Division I men’s basketball tournament.