Releases and Statements

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Knight Commission to Meet May 14 to Receive NCAA Reports on Academic and Financial Data and Reforms

William E. “Brit” Kirwan, Chancellor of the University System of Maryland, presides over first meeting as co-chairman; NFL Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti and Northwestern President Henry Bienen join Commission Who: R. Gerald Turner, President of Southern Methodist University and Co-Chairman of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics William E. “Brit” Kirwan, Chancellor, University System…

Make academic integrity part of recruiting process

R. Gerald Turner and Clifton R. Wharton, Jr., co-chairs of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, commented in the Miami Herald (link here) on February 4, 2007, about the need for colleges and universities to incorporate academic integrity in the recruiting of athletes. In the article, Turner and Wharton noted the significant media attention that…

Knight Commission announces May meeting date and Faculty Summit

The Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics announces two future meetings: 1) The Commission will have its next regular meeting on May 14, 2007, Washington DC, at The Willard Intercontinental Hotel. The meeting will be free and open to the public. 2) The Commission also invites college faculty, athletic administrators, media, students, and the public…

Knight Commission Meeting

[ Sessions and audio with scholars and experts on gender equity in college sports; influences on recruiting athletes; and the role of academics in recruiting athletes ]

The session reviewed the state of gender equity in intercollegiate athletics, 35 years after the passage of Title IX; the recruiting environment and process and whether its current state is healthy for prospects, coaches, and institutions; and, academic values in the recruiting process.

Speech: Ethics, Values and College Athletics

Clifton R. Wharton, Jr., Co-Chair, Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics is pleased to jointly sponsor this “presidential conversation” on how to improve integration of student athletes into the college or university. This is a worthy goal, but I see it as only one part of a broader set of…

Knight Commission responds to NCAA task force report

The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics commends the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the 50 current and former presidents and higher education leaders who served on the NCAA Presidential Task Force on the Future of Division I Intercollegiate Athletics. The report published today by the task force builds on the principles emphasized by the Knight…

Knight Commission Announces Addition

WASHINGTON—Following a working meeting here, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics announced that John J. DeGioia has joined the Commission. President of Georgetown for the past five years, DeGioia has been an administrator and professor at the Washington, D.C., institution since his graduation in 1979. At its meeting, the Knight Commission reviewed a final draft…

Knight Commission Announces New Co-Chairmen

Longtime members assume leadership WASHINGTON — The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics named R. Gerald Turner and Clifton R. Wharton Jr. co-chairmen yesterday. Wharton was a member of the Commission at its founding in 1989 and Turner joined in 1991.  Both have been leaders in the effort to ensure that college athletics programs are conducted…

Knight Commission Poll Finds Americans Deeply Concerned About College Sports

The focus of the summit was academic reform through the eyes of students and athletes. What standards should a college adopt to determine when commercialism in funding research or athletics is too much? Is it only dollars that matters in the search for knowledge? Intercollegiate athletics as a subset of academe also has values. The summit also investigated behavioral issues relating to students and athletes.

Poll: Americans are concerned about college sports

Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics Public Opinion Poll Executive Summary January 2006 Americans are passionate about college sports. They believe athletes ought to be “normal” college students, facing the same standards in admissions and challenges in the classroom, according to a poll conducted last month for the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. Enthusiasm about college…