The Drake Group Education Fund (TDGEF) is thrilled to congratulate Advisory Council member Ashleigh Johnson on her remarkable achievement of representing the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. As a world-class athlete, Princeton graduate, and dedicated advocate for TDGEF, Ashleigh is an inspiration to us all. The extraordinary achievements of Ashleigh and other … Read more
A new report by The Drake Group Education Fund (TDGEF) highlights the low graduation rates of Division I football and basketball players, especially Black athletes at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). It urges universities to improve academic support for these athletes, who face pressure to succeed in both academics and sports. Julie Sommer, Executive Director of … Read more
Athletes are accusing the NCAA of illegally withholding earnings from athletes related to the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL). On Nov. 3, 2023, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken certified three classes of college athletes consisting of at least 184,000 individuals regarding damages in the case, meaning, the NCAA faces monetary loss in … Read more
On December 7, 2023, Winston & Strawn LLP and Hagens Berman today filed an antitrust class action lawsuit in the Northern District of California against the NCAA and the five power conferences (Big Ten, SEC, Pac-12, ACC, and Big 12). The firms also won the Alston v. NCAA in the Supreme Court and are currently … Read more
Most people don’t know that the majority of college athletes do NOT receive athletic scholarships. Most athletes who receive athletic scholarships are receiving partial awards rather than the amounts covering the full cost of education. While 42 percent of college students report being “food insecure,” that percent among athletes is 60 percent with 51 percent … Read more
Student reporters and accomplished sports journalists who were judges in this year’s The Drake Group Education Fund Student Journalism Prize for Investigative Reporting on Intercollegiate Athletics participate in a wide-ranging conversation about college sports and the role of investigative journalism. Student journalists from Northwestern University and Quinnipiac University, winners of this year’s sports journalism contest … Read more
On the eve of March Madness, one of the biggest sports gambling days of the year, a former NBA referee and an attorney who were gambling addicts, a professional gambler and founder of a betting tips newsletter, and experts on match-fixing and treatment of gambling addiction discussed how gambling has the potential to destroy college … Read more
Jon Ericson, founding member and former Director of The Drake Group, draws on 35 years of higher education experience to describe how the system is fixed, who fixes it, and how the ‘race card’ is played to intimidate those who seek to expose exploitation of Black athletes. Ericson also explains how faculty and administrator conduct … Read more
A stellar panel of experts will explore what it looks like to truly cover the mental health needs of college athletes by moving beyond opinion and digging into the budget line items and numbers. After hiring a clinician or two, what are the other costs associated with college athletes’ mental health care? How are the investments currently … Read more