Education Fund Releases Major Research Report: Improving Academic Outcomes in NCAA Division I Revenue Sports and HBCU Limited Resource Athletic Programs

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Education Fund Releases Major Research Report: Improving Academic Outcomes in NCAA Division I Revenue Sports and HBCU Limited Resource Athletic Programs

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

The Drake Group Letter to U.S. Dept. of Education/Office for Civil Rights — Request for Issuance of Title IX Guidance Addressing Recruiting Practices of NIL Booster Collectives

The Drake Group, the sister organization of The Drake Group Education Fund, has communicated important information about NIL collectives to the Department of Education/Office for Civil Rights (DOE/OCR).  The Drake Group believes that the current NIL chaos can be relieved by DOE/OCR clearly and precisely warning institutions, their conferences and national governance organizations of their obligations … Read more

NILs and Title IX: Educational Institutions Must Fix their Promotion, Publicity, and Recruiting Inequities Critical to the NIL Monetization Success of College Female Athletes and Must Not Use Third Parties to Evade Their Title IX Obligations

Universities must not only focus on their own Title IX compliance obligations to provide male and female athletes with equal participation opportunities, athletics scholarship support, and equal treatment and benefits (including promotion, publicity, and recruiting), they must also require the third parties they establish, control, assist, or benefit from — conferences, national governing organizations, businesses, … Read more

A Continuing Disgrace: Intercollegiate Athletics Race Issues

The Drake Group believes that the commercialization of intercollegiate athletic programs has not only challenged the academic integrity of higher education but resulted in a predominantly White community of higher education administrators, athletic department administrators, coaches, and staff turning a blind eye to the racism underlying the economic, education and other forms of exploitation harming … Read more

The U.S. House NIL Bill, Student Athlete Level Playing Field Act, Is Improved but Still Needs Further Specification

The Drake Group commends lead sponsors Representatives Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH) and Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), for the reintroduction of their bipartisan bill, the Student Athlete Level Playing Field Act, in the 117th Congress that prohibits the NCAA and other national or conference governance organizations or their member institutions from declaring college athletes ineligible for participation because … Read more

The Drake Group Strongly Supports “College Athletes Bill of Rights” Introduced in the 117th Congress

On August 3, 2022, U.S. Senators Cory Booker, Richard Blumenthal, Brian Schatz, Ron Wyden, and Alex Padilla re-introduced the “College Athletes Bill of Rights” legislation aimed at advancing justice and opportunity for college athletes. “The College Athletes Bill of Rights bill is long overdue and extremely important,” said Andrew Zimbalist, President of The Drake Group. “It protects college athletes’ rights … Read more

Collegiate Athlete Compensation Rights Act Misses Mark on What is Needed to Protect the Independent Publicity Rights of College Athletes

The Drake Group reviewed the Collegiate Athlete Compensation Rights Act introduced by U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R)-Mississippi on December 10, 2020. The stated purpose of Senator Wicker’s bill is to protect the rights of college athletes, to provide for transparency and accountability with respect to college athlete name, image, and likeness (NIL) agreements, and to … Read more

The Drake Group Applauds “Intentional Discrimination” Lawsuit Alleging NCAA Discriminates Against HBCUs

The Drake Group, a national organization of college faculty and others whose mission is to defend educational integrity in higher education from the corrosive aspects of commercialized college sports, applauds the ‘Intentional Discrimination’ class action lawsuit (“Manassa vs the NCAA”) recently filed in the Southern District of Indiana. This lawsuit alleges that the NCAA’s academic … Read more

Knight Commission

Failing to Confront the “Elephants in the Room” – The Drake Group Comments on the Knight Commission Proposal to Transform the NCAA D-I Model

On December 3, 2020, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics issued a formal report, “Transforming the NCAA D-I Model: Recommendation for Change” in which the Knight Commission called for a “reset” of college athletics, urging Presidents and Chancellors to play their rightful leadership role in demanding such reform. Unfortunately, The Drake Group believes the proposed … Read more