Presidential control

Frank Deford, sportswriter, commentator
University of Rhode Island student newspaper

"There are two great myths in sport in America. One is that next year, soccer will really catch on; and the other is that next year, the college presidents will really get concerned about athletics and do something."

Crisis management

Sean O'Keefe, president
Louisiana State University
Chronicle of Higher Education

Discussing his institution's role in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina:

"When something like this happens, you become more aware of the full range of capacity you have at universities to be used in ways you never dreamed of. We really focused on capitalizing on what we had rather than standing around complaining about what we didn't have. ...

"The first information you get after a big disaster, because of all the confusion and mayhem, is inevitably only part of the story -- or absolutely inaccurate. It's the hardest thing not to act on your first impulse, but you'd be dumb to act on any early information."

The student-athlete ideal

Daniel Turkley, student
Middle Tennessee State University
Murfreesboro (Tennessee) Daily News Journal

"The bottom line is that people care about what happens on the field first, and that means winning and losing. It's already way beyond bringing things back to where they're hoping it will be, where athletes are looked at like they're regular students. When you've got ESPN everywhere and Internet 24 hours a day, people pay attention to what happens on the field."

Terry Whiteside, faculty athletics representative
Middle Tennessee State University
Middle Tennessee State student newspaper

"What we tell our athletes is that we want them to walk across the stage with a diploma in one hand and a championship ring in the other."

Fiscal responsibility

Jane Glickman, spokesperson
U.S. Department of Education
USA Today

Discussing what the department does with data from the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act:

"We just collect the data, post it and move on. We don't question it or edit it. (The reports are considered) a snapshot in time."

Homophobia

Mary Jo Kane, director of the Tucker Center University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Pittsburgh Tribune Review

"There are many ways coaches can say something without actually saying the word 'lesbian.' And that is called negative recruiting where coaches say, 'Don't worry about me (being gay)' or 'Don't go to that school.' Rival coaches might say, 'There are rumors I heard about that team or that coach. We run a different kind of program here. We have values here.' They talk in code. The problem is not lesbians in sports. It is homophobia."

Swin Cash, former student-athlete
University of Connecticut
Pittsburgh Tribune Review

"In our sport, so many players are stereotyped. Sexuality is never questioned on the men's side. I know I am a role model for young girls, and I tell them to be comfortable in their own skin."