In The Spotlight Archives - The Drake Group Education Fund

College Athlete Codes of Conduct and Issues Related to Freedom of Speech and Expression

The Drake Group addresses constitutionally protected speech and expression rights of public college and university students who participate in intercollegiate athletics. The current national debates about the extent to which athletic departments should properly control athlete behavior, especially on social media and in connection with activism require athletic directors to respond to questions such as … Read more

Rights of College Athletes

In light of the current national debate about transfer rules in intercollegiate athletics and other restrictions on the eligibility of college athletes, The Drake Group believes there is a need to acknowledge and define the basic rights of college students who participate in intercollegiate athletics.

Athletic Governance Organization and Institutional Responsibilities Related to Professional Coaching Conduct

The Drake Group believes that most coaches act responsibly and in the best interests of their players. Even when using now-unacceptable pedagogy, most coaches do so without malicious intent. However, adequate evidence shows that the coaching profession is without clear and consistent standards and that absent such guidelines, too many coaches, albeit a minority, are … Read more

Need for National Collegiate Athletic Governance Organization Rules Related to Athlete Sexual Misconduct and Other Physical Violence

Given the new Title IX sexual harassment regulations issued in May 2020, The Drake Group updated its 2016 position statement. Current issues related to college athlete sexual misconduct and other forms of violence were examined, demonstrating that, other than the U.S. Office of Civil Rights rules that have general applicability to institutions, no uniform approach … Read more

Excessive Athletics Time Demands Undermine College Athletes’ Health and Education and Require Immediate Reform

There is probably no more significant roadblock for college athletes seeking meaningful educations than the unreasonable amounts of time they must engage in practice and other athletics-related activities. In every NCAA and conference survey and through numerous research studies, athletes have made their concerns and needs concerning time spent on their sports known. Excessive athletics … Read more

Fixing the Dysfunctional NCAA Enforcement System

The 2015 unsealing of nearly 500 pages of documents in Todd McNair’s defamation lawsuit against the NCAA once again put a spotlight on the dysfunctional NCAA enforcement system. The Drake Group, a national organization of college faculty and others has been studying the NCAA enforcement system for many years. In April of 2015, The Drake … Read more

Student Fee and Institutional Subsidy Allocations to Fund Intercollegiate Athletics

The Drake Group specifically calls for individual student tuition bills that are fully transparent listing the amount of the student fees and other general fund subsidies being used to fund athletics. David Ridpath, Chair of the Drake Student Fee Working Group, points to the fact that “This is an issue of access to higher education. … Read more

The Drake Group Calls Upon NCAA, Its Member Institutions And Higher Education Regional Accreditation Agencies To Fulfill Athlete Academic Protection Responsibilities

There is a current debate concerning the responsibility of the NCAA to afford college athletes protections against academic fraud and misconduct, as has occurred recently at the University of North Carolina, Auburn University, Syracuse University and other institutions of higher education. The NCAA reported in early 2015 that it had 20 academic misconduct cases currently … Read more

Freshmen Ineligibility in Intercollegiate Athletics

In April of 2015 the Big Ten Conference circulated a white paper, Education First, Athletics Second: The Time for a National Discussion is Upon Us, that proposed freshmen ineligibility for Division I football and men’s basketball players. The white paper argued that freshman ineligibility would benefit athletes academically, but that it should only apply to … Read more

Congress Granting a Conditional Limited Antitrust Exemption to the NCAA and Its Member Institutions

Absent an antitrust exemption, which only the Congress can provide, the NCAA will continue to be the target of antitrust lawsuits whenever it tries to implement educationally defensible reforms that have commercial consequences.