The Knight Commission for Intercollegiate Athletics released its 2026 Priorities for College Sports Reform: Uniform Standards to Promote Education, Opportunity, and Financial Responsibility. This educational resource is particularly timely as Congress debates various bills impacting college sports. The priorities focus on: Promoting Athlete Education, Well-Being, and Fair Competition Supporting Athlete Opportunity through Revenues & Financial…
This Chronicle of Higher Education article by David Jesse, “‘We Are in a Crisis’: Why Louisville’s Leaders Are Proposing a Cap on Sports Spending,” cites findings from the Elon University Poll and Knight Commission Division I Leaders Survey that shows nearly 70 percent of campus leaders support athletics spending caps. Read article here.
The 2026 C.A.R.E. Model Conference Grant Application is now open to Division I conferences that demonstrate their revenue distribution policies align with C.A.R.E. Model priorities, including college athletes’ education, health, safety, well-being, equity, and opportunity. The application deadline is July 1, 2026. 2026 C.A.R.E. Model Conference Grant Application C.A.R.E. Model Grant Implementation Resources (updated February…
Criteria and Implementation Resources 2026 C.A.R.E. Model Conference Grant Application – deadline July 1, 2026 Implementation Resources for DI Conferences – updated September 2025 PDF for DI conferences that distribute less than $100 million PDF for DI conferences that distribute more than $100 million C.A.R.E. Model FAQ What it Means to Be a C.A.R.E. Champion…
A Knight Commission C.A.R.E. Champion is a designation that can be earned by a Division I athletics conference when it fully implements all the C.A.R.E. Model requirements, which prioritize the education and well-being of college athletes while integrating education-based principles in financial incentives and athletics spending. The C.A.R.E. Model (Connecting Athletics Revenues with the…
1. What is the purpose of the C.A.R.E. Model Conference Grant program? A new financial framework is needed to ensure that Division I shared athletics revenues are used to directly support the educational mission of college sports. This C.A.R.E. Model is created for conferences and national entities to bolster accountability and ensure that both the…
On Wednesday, January 14, 2026, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics presented a session at the 2026 NCAA Convention, “Congress and College Sports: Pending Legislation and Lingering Questions” at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, Oxon Hill, Maryland. CONGRESS AND COLLEGE SPORTS RESOURCES * Resources address proposed legislation as of January 12, 2026 Legislative…
January 7, 2026 – The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics announced the Patriot League as a C.A.R.E. Champion following the conference’s adoption and implementation of all requirements after being named a C.A.R.E. Model Conference Grant recipient in fall 2025. A C.A.R.E. Champion Connects Athletics Revenues with the Educational model of college sports by prioritizing college athletes’…
Describing the “compulsive, destructive overspending” by public universities on college athletics programs, most notably on football coaching severance pay, The Atlantic columnist Sally Jenkins quotes our CEO Amy Privette Perko and Commission member Kevin Blue, former athletics director at UC Davis, on the impact of “runaway expenditures” in a “zero-sum” game. Jenkins cites data from…
National college football writer Ross Dellenger noted the FBS coaching carousel for 2025 was on a record-setting pace, with three of the top five all-time severance obligations for fired head coaches at public universities before the end of October. Citing financial data from the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database, Dellenger noted the drastic increases in payouts,…