National Collegiate Athletic Association |
CommentDecember 7, 1998
Guest editorial -- Current bowl format perpetuates imbalance
By Peter A. Liske
While we faithfully pursue our top priority of serving young people and providing one of the finest educational experiences anyone can desire, our eye on funding never sleeps. It is in this arena that a major shift has occurred without receiving adequate attention. Our praise must be offered to the major conference commissioners who have created and nurtured the football bowl coalition process to the virtual exclusion of all but approximately 60 of the more than 300 Division I institutions. The rationale for this exclusion was not competition opportunity; it was revenue distribution. The commissioners involved have done an outstanding job of fulfilling their duties -- serving their respective conferences and their member institutions by generating as much revenue as possible. This is what they are paid to do. There is no question these commissioners do many positive things for student-athletes, intercollegiate athletics and communities as a whole. But one of their top priorities is to benefit their conferences' financial interests. While the NCAA is criticized for many things, it does serve the member institutions extremely well in revenue generation and revenue distribution. The basketball tournament funds, championship monies, licensing and all other sources of revenue are disbursed to the membership in admirable fashion for academic use, scholarship funding, sports sponsorship and additional beneficial purposes. One hundred percent of the membership in Division I benefits to some degree -- mostly from a sport that is not cost prohibitive when compared to football. Do football costs justify the fact that 20 percent of Division I institutions keep approximately 95 percent of the bowl money? For example, 1997 bowl revenues were approximately $100 million. Of that, $95 million went to Atlantic Coast, Southeastern, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-10 institutions. That left $5 million available for the remaining 50 to 60 Division I-A institutions or the more than 200 remaining Division I institutions. An average of about $1.5 million went to each of the schools in the those six conferences and an average of $20,000 went to the remaining 240-plus schools (even though it's not distributed in that manner). While the above illustration does not account for TV revenue and all other in-season revenues, it does depict the exceptional imbalance of football revenue distribution. The argument is: "We (the six conferences) generate the revenue; we should receive it." The issue is: "We control the television contracts and the bowls; therefore, we decide the distribution." The end result is that the six conferences control scheduling (they seldom play road games at the remaining institutions), which helps perpetuate the imbalance. Funds are spent on new facilities, significant upgrades and large salaries -- not only on football but on all other sport programs -- in such great numbers that this further distances six conferences from all others in all other sports. The prophecy of many who were concerned about the new governance structure being "controlled" by the few for their own benefit is becoming painfully accurate. With the current football revenue distribution, an exclusionary structure is being built. It will be even more so with the Bowl Championship Series generating even greater revenues -- again primarily dispersed to 20 percent of the Division I institutions. The NCAA basketball distribution has enhanced many programs. Not only have athletics programs benefited, but the revenue has aided academics and programs such as life skills at many, many institutions. It has provided the best possible educational opportunity for many individuals and is doing so in increasing numbers. The current bowl distribution formula is counter to this mission and will be more so in the future. Please, NCAA, step in and establish a playoff system. Develop a revenue distribution similar to basketball -- one that promotes the betterment of all intercollegiate athletics. Our institutions will not benefit from the quasi-professionalization of six conferences. We are headed toward more extravagant facilities, payment of student-athletes, higher salaries, more equipment, "state-of-the-art" trappings and more. It sounds like the start of an NBA lockout, NFL or baseball players strike, TV negotiation deadlock, community and public funding of sport palaces, and much, much, more. Mssrs. Delany, Hansen, Kramer, Swofford, Tranghese and Weiberg: You are commissioners of six great NCAA conferences. Remember how you got there. Peter A. Liske is the director of athletics at the University of Toledo. Comment -- Wrestlers aided by academic/athletics link
BY EARL W. EDWARDS
It occurred to me that we should have an expert in exercise physiology monitor our wrestling program. This was a natural response because of this type of expertise was readily available on our campus. I immediately contacted our exercise physiologist, as well as the wrestling coach, and explained how I wanted to be proactive in providing a safe and healthy environment for our wrestlers. It was important to me that we develop an environment that would go beyond any rules changes that would occur in the sport of wrestling. As a result of this meeting, a collaborative effort between academics (exercise physiology) and athletics was developed to create a unique, comprehensive, educational and physiological monitoring program for our student-athletes. The program is coordinated by Shala Davis on a year-round basis and includes three educational seminars: "Safe Methods and Strategies for Weight Loss," "Nutritional Supplements: What is the Real Story?" and "A Diet for Athletics Performance." In addition, random testing of wrestlers' body water composition is conducted and physiological performance profiles are developed.
Preliminary data demonstrated low carbohydrate ingestion (48.3 percent of daily calories), with adequate protein (19.4 percent of daily calories) and fat (27.1 percent of daily calories). These athletes may become depleted of carbohydrate fuel stores with the combination of reduced ingestion and demanding practice schedules. Clearly, the athletes will benefit from additional information related to diet and athletics performance. Additional information also is provided to the athletes regarding their body water composition through our random testing program. This program encourages them to eat and hydrate properly throughout the season. Periodically before practice, wrestlers are selected randomly and are tested with a small mechanical device called a Biodynamics Body Composition Analyzer. This analyzer tells us whether it is safe to allow the wrestler to practice based on his hydration level. This additional information helps us to create a safe environment for our student-athletes by not allowing dehydrated athletes to practice. This program in a very short time has gone a long way toward creating a safe environment for our wrestlers. Other key professionals who help to implement this program are the athletic trainers and a sports nutritionist. If you would like to know more about this program, I would be happy to share information with you, your school or your conference. Earl W. Edwards is the director of athletics at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. Shala Davis, a professor in the movement studies and exercise science department, assisted with the article.
Opinions -- Society benefits from racially aware admission policies
William G. Bowen, former president of Princeton University "In the late 1960s, colleges and universities began to change (diversity) statistics, not by establishing quotas, but by considering race, along with many other factors, in deciding whom to admit.... "In recent years, race-sensitive admissions policies have been vigorously contested. Surprisingly, however, there has been little hard evidence of how these policies work and what their consequences have been. "To remedy this deficiency, we examined the college and later-life experiences of tens of thousands of black and white students who entered 28 selective colleges and universities in the fall of 1976 and the fall of 1989. What did we discover? "Compared with their extremely high-achieving white classmates, Blacks in general received somewhat lower college grades and graduated at moderately lower rates. Still, 75 percent graduated within six years, a figure well above the 40 percent of Blacks and 59 percent of whites who graduated from all NCAA Division I schools. More than 90 percent of both Blacks and whites in our survey were satisfied or very satisfied with their college experience, and Blacks were even more inclined than whites to credit their undergraduate experience with helping them learn crucial skills. "Although more than half the black students attending these schools would have been rejected under a race-neutral admissions regime, they have done exceedingly well after college. A remarkable 40 percent of black graduates who entered these selective colleges in 1976 went on to earn doctorates or professional degrees in the most sought-after fields of law, business and medicine. This figure is slightly higher than that for their white classmates and five times higher than that for all black B.A.s nationwide.... "Looking back, large majorities of Blacks, whites and Latinos believe that their college experience contributed much to their ability to live and work with other races. Almost 80 percent of the white graduates favor retaining their school's current emphasis on diversity or emphasizing it even more. "Our findings also clarify the misunderstood concept of 'merit' in admissions. Selective colleges do not automatically offer admission as a reward for past performance....Rather, admissions officers select those applicants most likely to help the institution fulfill its educational objectives and its responsibilities to society. "For selective institutions, meritorious students are those above a high academic threshold who seem most likely to enhance the education of other students and contribute to their professions and communities. From this perspective, the minority students admitted to the 28 institutions in our study have been 'meritorious' in the best sense of the term. "A mandate to ignore race in choosing applicants would require that more than half the black students attending these selective institutions be rejected. Would society be better off as a result? Considering the educational benefits of diversity and the need to include more highly qualified minorities in the top ranks of business, government and the professions, our findings convince us that the answer is no."
Women's basketball
Joan Cronan, women's director of athletics "It's tough to make a profit in sports, especially women's sports. But we said yes to women's basketball before it was cool to do that and over the years we've worked extremely hard to develop a product that people really want to buy. "The thing that is so wonderful is that we were able to turn a profit even though we do everything first class and have some of the highest-paid coaches in America. It's not like our expenses were really low and that's how we were able to make money. "We've been able to do it because we've been so successful and people want to see us. Over the last 10 years, we've led the nation in attendance eight times. Last year, we were No. 1 with more than 15,000 fans per game. And we have fans out there who want to spend more money just so they can sit closer to the floor. "I think this will start happening more and more across the board. Women's basketball is getting better and better and the standards are getting higher and higher every day."
Baseball bats
Steve Forbes, editor-in-chief "Starting the season for 2000, the NCAA will change the standards for the size and weight of aluminum bats that can be used in college baseball. The idea is to make metal bats function more like the wooden variety. Why not go the distance and simply decree a return to the wooden variety? "The aluminum bat is distortive and should be banned at the college level. Players who hit well with it do not necessarily do so with wooden bats when they try out for major league baseball. A batter can hit a ball almost anywhere on an aluminum bat, and the ball will sail as if it came off the so-called sweet spot of a wooden bat. "The aluminum kind is thus lethal against fast-ball pitchers, particularly those who throw inside. Hence, these metal sticks distort the development of effective pitching."
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The subject of finances is near and dear to the daily lives of all athletics administrators.
As many of you know, three intercollegiate wrestlers died last year while preparing for the 1998 season. When I read about these tragedies, I thought, "What can I do as the athletics director at East Stroudsburg to prevent such tragedies from occurring here?"
The athletes have the performance profiles completed in the preseason to allow for adequate follow-up. This profile includes the following analysis: body composition, three-day diet, body water and eating behavior. Any at-risk athletes are identified and referred for follow-up.