Allen L. Sack, professor
University of New Haven
The Chronicle of Higher Education

"Big-time college sports is all about entertainment -- and, as recent books remind us, no important constituency seems to care. Fans love such commercial spectacles, and alumni rank them among their most memorable college experiences. Faculty members are too preoccupied with research to give the decline of undergraduate education much thought. Powerful board members know that the classroom experience of athletes is far from ideal, but console themselves with the belief that the lessons learned on the court and playing field are more important anyway. Presidents generally acquiesce in the decisions of trustees and alumni.

"In fact, short of a precipitating event -- one comparable to the fall of the Soviet Union -- it is difficult to imagine what could bring about reform of such a national obsession."

Ellen Staurowsky, professor of sport sciences
Ithaca College
The Christian Science Monitor

"For far too long, it has been the requirements of winning that have shaped the way sports are handled in higher education. When we talk about sports in higher education, it must be the 'higher education' that drives our vision, rather than sports."

Nancy Vickers, president
Bryn Mawr College
The Chronicle of Higher Education

"(Bryn Mawr), by everyone's report, is one of the most intense academic environments on the planet. But we want students who are fit and healthy.

"And sometimes we want to win a game."