The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- January 18, 1999

Dempsey speech chronicles changing face of college sports

Following is the text of President Cedric W. Dempsey's State of the Association address at the 1999 NCAA Convention.

Five years ago here in San Antonio, Sam Smith and I both began new jobs in the NCAA. I was in my first week as chief executive officer and Sam began his term on the Presidents Commission.

Sam has been a role model for presidential participation. There were those who questioned whether college presidents would maintain their interest and involvement in the new structure.

Sam, you have given us five important years of leadership. That's longer than the average tenure of CEOs on campus. Sam will be leaving the chair of the Executive Committee at the end of this Convention. We thank you, Sam, for your leadership, your contributions and your service. I thank you for your counsel and friendship.

As we begin this final year of the 20th century, it is appropriate to take stock of where we've been, how we've progressed and where, as an association, we're going. This is a century that some have termed the "American century." Certainly, it's one in which we've seen our nation come of age and assume world leadership.

Transportation has progressed from horses and trains to automobiles and space shuttles. Communication has advanced from telegraph to television to the Internet. In health care, we have moved from discovery of antibiotics to heart valve replacements.

In this century, as throughout the ages, the human spirit has soared, crashed and soared again.

Against that backdrop, our tendency is to assume that sports must be insignificant in this great drama. They are, after all ... only games. But they are not just games. Those of us who have been engaged in sports as participants and spectators know there is a fundamental and real connection between the spirit of competition and the spirit that soars, crashes and soars again. It has always been so.

In America today, it is estimated by the Sports Business Journal that we spend $324 billion annually on sports. Whole industries have developed, just to support our fascination with athletics and physical activity. At the beginning of this century, no one could have imagined what sports in America and around the world would become at the century's end.

Intercollegiate athletics certainly has not been a bystander in this growth surge. The popularity of college sports has sometimes set the pace for the larger athletics community. And it's important to note that the width and breadth of college sports in America is unique in the world. Nowhere else is there a system of amateur athletics associated so exclusively with colleges and universities as in this country. Because of our commitment to higher education and the role that athletics has played in the lives of young men and women on our campuses, we forget how unusual this specific sports community is.

Coaches, faculty, presidents, alumni, families, and, most important, student-athletes know and value the special relationship between sports and campus in college athletics.

Caught between viewpoints

From time to time, however, those of us charged with preserving and nurturing that relationship -- you in this room and those throughout the NCAA family -- are often whipsawed between those who see winning as the only measure of success and those who value participation as the one true standard ... between those who want more and better programs at ever-increasing cost and those who believe that contracts for athletics uniforms and equipment are tantamount to selling out. We're caught between those who point to lower-than-acceptable graduation rates and those who believe we try to dictate national high-school curricula with freshman eligibility requirements.

Most disturbing of all is the race to litigate, when one special-interest group or another disagrees with the way in which higher education regulates its athletics programs.

We've learned something about litigation in the last year. The biggest news, of course, was the jury verdict in the restricted-earnings case. And since that verdict, two other antitrust cases were filed by baseball bat manufacturers and a third from an athletics apparel company.

These legal challenges are about much more than money. In my estimation, they call into question the ability of higher education to regulate its intercollegiate athletics programs through an organization like the NCAA. It is for this reason that the Executive Committee has fought so vigorously against the summary ruling in the restricted-earnings case. Although we've engaged in settlement discussions in good faith, and hope we have success there, we may well be sending a message that filing such lawsuits is good business.

These suits are brought as challenges to principles agreed to by the membership through a democratic legislative process. For example, the NCAA membership has spoken clearly about keeping student-athletes from becoming billboards for commercial enterprises. Yet, in November, the Association was sued by an apparel company because of a membership-approved bylaw that restricts the size of commercial logos on uniforms.

The two suits brought by baseball bat manufacturers -- one of which has been dismissed -- were on opposing sides of a playing rule. These strike at the very reason for the Association's creation 92 years ago ... a mandate to develop playing rules to minimize risk in college sports, and to maintain the integrity of the contest.

We've asked the NCAA's legal counsel to evaluate our entire body of legislation for antitrust implications and we won't hesitate to recommend change where risk is identified. At stake in this pattern of litigation is a fundamental question about the Association's ability to implement the legislated desires of its member schools. If we believed these principles were important enough to put into legislation, we also must believe they are important enough to defend against legal challenge.

As college sports continue to grow in popularity -- not just in the number of fans but the intensity of their enthusiasm -- I suspect we will continue to find ourselves caught between strongly defended but opposing positions on various issues. It is a testament to the emotional connection we have to college sports that those who follow the feats of athletes in this unique environment are not mere fans ... they are stakeholders.

So, as we bring a close to this century and approach the centennial of the NCAA in 2006, there is much to celebrate about the state of sports in America and the state of this Association. But at the same time, there are challenges. It will take a strong resolve, the collegial instincts of educators and a full commitment to the common good if we are to meet these challenges successfully.

Review of priorities

A year ago at the annual Convention, I introduced some priorities to help meet these challenges over the next three years. These priorities have been presented to the governance groups, and I want to review our progress in each area.

The first one I want to review is our commitment to balancing Association-wide mission and values with marketing and promotional initiatives. This is a significant challenge. In fact, for those of you involved on a daily basis in trying to balance finite resources with infinite demand, there is hardly a more important exercise.

The number of young men and women seeking participation opportunities continues to grow. Today, that number stands at more than 330,000. This is wonderful news and a success story we should celebrate. But this success also applies pressure that strains the ability to maintain quality athletics experiences, much less enhance those experiences. Initiatives to capitalize on both the success and special relationship between athletics programs and those who support them have brought much needed revenue. In fact, these initiatives have enabled some athletics programs to survive.

There is a clear need for a more business-like approach in our marketing strategy. But it also is clear that we must maximize the revenue-earning capabilities of college sports without endangering the integrity of academic mission. This will take our very best efforts.

The second priority announced at last year's Convention was to develop and implement a coordinated approach to shaping public perception of the NCAA and college sports. A significant component of that initiative will create a new visual identity for the Association. Earlier this year, the Executive Committee approved a budget for research that will be used in developing those plans. We selected the combined efforts of Landor & Associates and Lou Harris & Associates to undertake a broad-based survey of our constituents.

The results of those surveys have just been sent to the national office. Over the next few months, we will analyze them, report on them to the governance bodies and membership, and form a plan for implementation beginning with the 1999-2000 fiscal year.

I can't emphasize enough that this is an Association-wide initiative. One of my most surprising discoveries when I was hired by the NCAA five years ago was to learn of the lack of knowledge and understanding about the Association among the general public, the media, and even among our own membership. All of us must recognize our role in shaping the perception of the NCAA and, in turn, the perception of college sports on our campuses.

A third project is the management of NCAA 2000, the move of our headquarters to Indianapolis. We're on schedule for the move to begin in July of this year. The final phase -- opening the Hall of Champions -- will take place in March of 2000.

Paramount in this effort is our commitment to maintain the same level of service to you, despite some significant staffing challenges. Based on a review of staff intentions to move to Indianapolis, we estimate that by this fall, two-thirds of our staff will have been with the Association for less than two years. This represents a loss of experience and institutional history that will not be easy to overcome.

On the other hand, technology initiatives will permit us to communicate better, both within the national office and with the membership. Through NCAA Online, we've expanded communications to the membership on governance issues, classified advertising opportunities, and we've signed an agreement with Host Communications and Total Sports to provide Internet coverage of all 81 championships.

Over the next year, we also will move more and more publications to NCAA Online or to CD disks as the primary delivery system. This technology initiative alone will save the Association $700,000 over the next three years. And this is part of a larger set of cost avoidance and revenue enhancements that, through better business practices, will save the membership a total of $23 million in that same three-year period.

The fourth priority identified a year ago involves completing implementation of the new governance structure. Although there will be fine tuning from time to time, in general, the new structure has worked well. We've clearly achieved greater federation of the membership.

The Division I Management Council has undertaken a review of the effectiveness and efficiency of the new structure and will update the Board of Directors Tuesday. The greatest concern is a disconnect between the membership in Division I and the legislative process. The volume of legislative mailings to the membership and the difficulty of knowing where a proposal is in the process have made some feel less involved than they were in the old structure. This is an area that must change.

Division III has completed its first effort at strategic planning and Divisions I and II are deep into that process. In my view, this effort will pay important dividends as we bring greater planning to the management of our resources.

Student-athlete welfare

The final priority -- and most important, I would argue -- is assuring that student-athletes are at the heart of our decision making. As unassailable as this priority is, this also is our most vulnerable endeavor. Nowhere is walking the talk more important than in assuring the welfare of student-athletes. Yet, striking a balance between competitive parity and institutional mission -- between academic success and athletics access -- is a formidable exercise.

I've spoken before about the needs, within this priority, to maintain the quality of the championship experience, to encourage the continued examination of how amateurism comports with today's demands and opportunities for student-athletes ... and to contribute to the development of life skills. These are initiatives that we've begun and will continue to support.

A year ago, we expanded championship opportunities in Divisions II and III. In the last year, we increased opportunities in Division I by adding 60 more teams in five team sports and 157 additional athletes in three individual sports. Also in the last year, the Executive Committee has begun a comprehensive review of diversity and gender issues in pretty much everything we do, to ensure that we're being equitable.

In addition, there are three other issues related to student-athlete welfare that deserve special attention. The first is the study of Division I basketball issues. This year-long study has been undertaken by a group chaired by Syracuse Chancellor Ken Shaw. The working group's charge is broad: Study any and all of the issues that have a significant impact on Division I basketball and make appropriate recommendations through the Division I governance structure. The challenge is simple -- as one representative who spoke before the group phrased it: "Do the right thing."

The second student-athlete issue that will challenge us over the next several months is the initial-eligibility requirements in Divisions I and II. It's important for us to remember where we came from on this issue. A decade ago, higher education was accused of exploiting ill-prepared student-athletes and casting them out with eligibility exhausted and no degree. Proposition 48 and the refinements that followed have clearly responded. Despite a 1 percent decline in graduation rates in this last reporting period, rates for student-athletes on average still exceed rates for the rest of the student body. The vast majority of prospective student-athletes have had no problem meeting those standards.

At the same time, Division I has undertaken a careful and appropriate review of those requirements to assure that all student-athletes who can successfully take on the rigors of the classroom and participate in sports as a freshman have the opportunity to do so. I continue to support that review and any changes that serve the needs of student-athletes better.

Unfortunately, we've tried to make eligibility requirements finely tuned instruments that can be applied with precision. Where the call has been close, our tendency has been to err on the side of academic conservatism. I suggest that it may be time to reconsider that approach. On the close calls, it now may be time to become more flexible and trust in the competitive drive of student-athletes to motivate their success in the classroom as well as on the playing field.

Gambling-related issues

The third issue that affects the welfare of student-athletes and intercollegiate athletics is illegal sports wagering. This may be the most insidious of all issues facing college sports today. We have had more revelations of illegal sports wagering and point shaving in the last year. And, regrettably, we may only have seen the tip of the iceberg.

In a contradiction of terms, our society sees nothing wrong with illegal sports wagering and views it as a victimless crime. Euphemistically, we call it "gaming." Ask Stevin Smith or Dion Lee if what happened to them was a game. Ask their former universities if they feel victimized. And ask other student-athletes who competed with Smith and Lee if they have been made to feel guilty by association.

If there weren't victims ... it wouldn't be a crime.

We have increased our educational programs to wake up college campuses and athletics administrators to the dangers of sports wagering. But we -- all of us in college sports and higher education -- must turn up the heat. We must take the initiative to help uncover student bookie operations on our campuses.

We need to continue to counsel our student-athletes to avoid those who seek their friendship for the sole purpose of trapping them into betting or point shaving. And we cannot continue to look the other way when we know boosters are betting on our contests and students are placing wagers on our campuses.

I challenge you to send a clear message that your athletics programs will not be used as the poker stake in sports wagering and point shaving.

The integrity of college sports is already at risk. Without strong action to crack down on sports gambling, the future of college sports could be at stake.

Those are the priorities and issues at work in college athletics as we finish this century. Today, sports have taken on dimensions we never could have imagined a hundred years ago. And just the last year alone has brought enough controversy to prompt some pundits to suggest that the sky is falling in college sports.

I don't buy that notion ... not for a minute.

Let me say this to the critics of college sports and the NCAA. While you can be sure that change will pressure intercollegiate athletics, be equally certain that college sports, as always, will adapt, survive and continue to prosper. This organization was founded in controversy. And change, like growth, has been our hallmark.

We may disagree about solutions, but through restructuring, we've linked ourselves to higher education in appropriate and significant ways that argue for the common good and for doing the right thing. This is our challenge.

Once again, I'm honored to have had the opportunity to speak to you about the state of the Association, and I look forward confidently to continuing the progress we've made as this century draws to a close and the new millennium begins.

Thank you.