Grants and Challenge Awards
Challenge Grants for Achieving Racial Equity in College Sports
The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics issued a call for proposals for research grants to advance the goals in its “Achieving Racial Equity in College Sports” report. In the report, the Commission called on universities, athletics conferences, the College Football Playoff (CFP) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to take decisive action to address policies and practices that create barriers to the success of Black college athletes.
To achieve the equity goals highlighted in the report, the Knight Commission is offering $100,000 in multi-year Challenge grants to fund collaborative research that demonstrates how specific interventions impact the Black athlete experience and/or Black athlete advocacy areas. Also, the research should be conducted as a partnership between researchers and athletics administrators at the campus, conference or national association levels.
Researchers are encouraged to submit proposals using the guidelines outlined in the Call for Proposals. Proposals will be judged based on their ability to advance research in the areas of Black athlete experience and/or Black athlete advocacy, demonstrated partnership with college athletics program(s), clarity, feasibility, and potential impact.
For questions on the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics Challenge Grant, please review the Frequently Asked Question (FAQ Document). If your question is not answered in the document, please contact Dr. Christopher Brown at applications@knightcommission.org.
Question and Answer – Teleconference
The Knight Commission will host a teleconference call on September 15, 2021, at 1:00 pm EST to discuss the Challenge Grant process and answer questions for applicants. To register for the teleconference email applications@knightcommission.org
Dates/Deadlines
August 26, 2021 – Application opens on https://www.knightcommission.org/
September 15, 2021– Q&A teleconference call
October 22, 2021 – Application deadline
November 15, 2021 – Notifications of receipt of grant funding will be sent out.
December 1, 2021 – First round of funds to be distributed
TBD – Presentation on research findings to the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics
October 24, 2016 – Knight Commission Announces Spending Database Challenge Awards
Four research projects were recently completed with support from challenge awards provided by the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics to encourage use of its NCAA Division I Athletics & Academic Spending Database (spendingdatabase.knightcommission.org). The Knight Commission does not take a position on the findings produced by the research.
- Athletics Subsidies and College Costs: Are Students Paying for Rising Cost in Intercollegiate Athletics? Willis Jones, University of Kentucky; Michael Rudolph, University of Kentucky
- Big-Time Sports and Big-Time Research: A Comparison of Commercialization Across the Academy. Jennifer Hoffman, University of Washington; Jacob Rooksby, Duquesne University; Greg Hay, University of Washington
- Students’ Perceptions of Institutional Support for Athletics in NCAA Division I. Jordan Bass, University of Kansas; Claire Schaeperkoetter, University of Kansas; Brian Gordon, University of Wisconsin La Crosse
- The Impact of Institutional Characteristics on Total Debt Outstanding on Athletic Facilities: Testing a New Paradigm. Linda Clark, Central Connecticut State University
October 9, 2012 – Research: Shaping policy and practice in intercollegiate athletics
The Knight Commission awarded grants totaling $100,000 to six research projects focused on policy and practice in intercollegiate athletics—building on the Commission’s legacy as a change agent to enhance the ability of sports programs to benefit both students and institutions. The grants went to a combination of established scholars and new voices in the fast-growing area of sport policy, embracing practitioners and scholars of both higher education and sport management.